Christmas is coming, and that means it's time to get baking! These Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies will surely be a hit with friends and family. They're easy to make, too—just follow the simple instructions below!
Why this recipe
Cute Christmas cookies. This gingerbread cookie recipe is so cute and perfect for the holiday season.
Very easy. I love how easy these are to make. Just a few simple ingredients, and you've got yourself some adorable reindeer cookies!
Perfect for holiday gatherings. The best part about this recipe is that it yields 24 cookies, so you'll have plenty to share (or not!).
Fun for kids. Kids will love decorating these cookies with chocolate chips, candy eyes, and red M&Ms.
Ingredients for reindeer gingerbread cookies
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour or your favorite gluten-free substitute.
- Ground Ginger. Fresh is best, but you can also use dried.
- Cinnamon.
- Nutmeg.
- Baking Soda.
- Salt.
- Butter. Unsalted and softened.
- Brown Sugar. Light brown has a less intense flavor. Dark brown flavor has a rich deep flavor. Either will work.
- Molasses. Unsulphured.
- Egg. Room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract. You can also use vanilla essence.
- Chocolate Chips. Melted.
- Candy Eyeballs.
- M&Ms. Red or brown.
How to make adorable reindeer cookies
In a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, add softened butter and brown sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy.
Add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
Slowly add the flour mixture to your stand mixer, allowing each addition to get mostly incorporated before adding more.
Once the dough is mixed, generously flour your work surface, either a clean counter or a large piece of parchment paper and dump your dough onto the floured surface.
Flour your hands, or use a piece of parchment paper to fold the dough together enough to wrap it in parchment and place it in a gallon Ziploc bag.
Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or, for best results, overnight.
After the dough has chilled, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Generously flour your workspace again, plus your hands and rolling pin.
Roll out your gingerbread dough until ¼ inch thick. The edges don't need to be perfect, they may crack, but that's okay.
Use your gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out ¼ inch thick ginger men in all of the places you can where the dough is solid, avoiding any thinner or cracked edges. We are going to re-roll the excess dough.
Place your cut-out ginger men on the prepared baking sheet. Gather up your leftover dough, and re-roll to repeat this process and make more ginger men until all the dough is used up. For best results, and because this may take a while, chill your cut-out gingerbread men in the refrigerator again for about 45 minutes.
Move the cookies to your preheated oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are just crisping. Be careful not to overbake.
Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.
Once the cookies have cooled, turn the gingerbread men upside down and use the melted chocolate to attach your candy eyes & M&M noses, and then draw on your reindeer antlers.
Combine all spices into a large bowl and mix thoroughly into lean ground beef
Form into ball shape with your hands
Press into patties on the tray
Place into oven at 350 fahrenheit
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Tips for best results
Use a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off to pipe on the antlers.
If you want your cookies to be extra crisp, bake them for 1-2 minutes longer.
For an easy and professional-looking finish, use a squeeze bottle for the melted chocolate.
To store the cookies, place them in an airtight container with a layer of plastic wrap between each cookie.
For extra spicy gingerbread cookies, add 1 tsp. ground cloves to the dry ingredients.
If you want to make these ahead of time, the dough can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
More great Christmas cookie recipes
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Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Parchment Paper
- Ziploc bag
- Cookie sheet
- Rolling Pin
- gingerbread man cookie cutter
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. Ground ginger
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
- ½ tsp. Nutmeg
- 1 tsp. Baking soda
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ tsp. Vanilla
- ½ cup chocolate chips melted
- 48 candy eyeballs
- 24 red or brown M&Ms
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, add softened butter and brown sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy.
- Add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to your stand mixer, allowing each addition to get mostly incorporated before adding more.
- Once the dough is mixed, generously flour your work surface, either a clean counter or a large piece of parchment paper, and dump your dough onto the floured surface.
- Flour your hands, or use a piece of parchment paper to fold the dough together enough to wrap it in parchment and place in a gallon ziploc bag.
- Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hour, or for best results, overnight.
- After the dough has chilled, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Generously flour your work space again, plus your hands and rolling pin.
- Roll out your gingerbread dough, until ¼ inch thick. The edges don’t need to be perfect, they may crack but that’s okay.
- Use your gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out ¼ inch thick ginger men in all of the places you can where the dough is solid, avoiding any thinner or cracked edges. We are going to re-roll the excess dough.
- Place your cut out ginger men on the prepared baking sheet. Gather up your leftover dough, and re-roll to repeat this process and make more ginger men, until all the dough is used up. For best results, and because this may take a while, chill your cut out gingerbread men in the refrigerator again for about 45 minutes.
- Move the cookies to your preheated oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just crisping. Be careful not to overbake.
- Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.
- Once cookies have cooled, turn the gingerbread men upside down and use the melted chocolate to attach your candy eyes & M&M noses, and then draw on your reindeer antlers.
Tamara
So cute! I couldn't just eat one. I love gingerbread so much.