Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Christmas Party and Reindeer Cookies

Last Friday we decided to throw a little Christmas themed get together with some of our close friends, complete with a white elephant gift exchange and reindeer cookies. How much more Christmassy does it get than that? The only thing we were missing was A Charlie Brown's Christmas and singing carols. Next year.

                

I used the party as an excuse to wear my new winter leggings. Rosie really wanted to be in the picture so we went with it. With her long, crazy curls isn't she just the cutest little winter doggy?












I saw these cookies on Pinterest and simply had to try them out. These are the kind of baked goods that I can't wait to make with Klair someday. They were so easy and yummy, I'll definitely be keeping this recipe in mind for the future. 

I feel like these cookies are pretty self explanatory. Once you have all the ingredients they are ridiculously easy to make. 

For my own little reindeer I used my favorite peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe (except without the chocolate chips this time in favor of the m&ms). 
For this recipe you will need: 
  • Pretzels (the gluten-free variety if you so desire)
  • Red M&M's (you get more reds in a christmas package)
  • brown, blue, and green mini M&M's
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • 3/4 tsp of baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups of flour ( If you would like to keep this gluten-free then substitute for gluten free all purpose flour--I use Bob's Red Mill-- and add the appropriate amount of xanthum gum if required)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together until well blended. Drop rounded tablespoon sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet a few inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (I usually do eight because I prefer my cookies to be softer).  As soon as you take the cookies out, press two pretzels into them for antlers (I discovered that they look and stay in place better if they're angled slightly upward). Next, press the mini M&M's for eyes and the red ones for Rudolph's nose. 

Let the cookies cool for a few minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. And... voila! You have your very own team of reindeer. They make a great party treat, a fun neighbor gift, or they simply pair well with hot chocolate. 




 Oh, and for the record, mini M&M's are incredible. They're way better than regular M&M's. I haven't had them since I was a kid, and now realize what a shame that is. Am I the only one who is just re-realizing how devilishly good these little candies are? 

4 comments:

  1. Love your outfit!! The cookies turned out so cute! I agree about the mini M&Ms ..so good!
    Hope your family has a wonderful Christmas! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, thank you! I hope you and your sweet boys have a good Christmas too! :)

      Delete
  2. those cookies are so cute! and I love those leggings!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I read and appreciate every comment. Look back for a reply.