Gingy Reindeer Cookies

How absolutely cute and creative are these cookies? I saw them in a new cookie cookbook and HAD to make them this season. What's even better? They taste fantastic!! I tweaked the "face" candy a little and will give you a few different options for application. And with a little help from a pre-made mix you can absolutely create these adorable Rudolph's for your upcoming Holiday festivities.

I had my hubby hit up Michael's craft store for me to get a few Holiday food take-out containers (99 cents each), so I can fill them and give the cookies as gifts to coworkers, friends and family. They will surely appreciate the creative, homemade snacks!

Ingredients & Recipe: (about 1 dozen cookies)

Printable Recipe

• 1 box of gingerbread mix (14 oz.)
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbls. vegetable oil
• 2 Tbls. all-purpose flour
• bag of small pretzel twists
• black & red M&M's or jelly beans
• 1 Tbls. leftover frosting (optional)
• cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cookie sheet by lightly spraying with cooking spray, or use Silpat baking mats.

Begin by combining the gingerbread mix, eggs, oil and flour in a large bowl. Stir until dough forms. Roll, in your hands (like you used to do with Play Dough when you were a kid), 1 1/2-inch balls of dough. Flatten each ball out into a 3-inch oval shape, use your fingers to shape the "head", lay it on the cookie sheet (be sure to give each cookie a little room to grow in the oven). Press the pretzels into the top of the head, to look like antlers.

Now you have a few options for completing the cookies, and assembling the eyes and nose:

1. Press the M&M's or jelly beans into the raw dough. Bake for 10 minutes, until the bottom of the cookies are firm. Transfer the cookies to a cooling wrack to cool. OR


2. Bake for 10 minutes, until the bottom of the cookies are firm. Transfer to a cooling wrack. Dab a bit of frosting where the eyes & nose should go, and then place the M&M's or jelly beans (the frosting is essentially our glue).