Reindeer Mask Cookies Recipes

HOLIDAY REINDEER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip one cookie in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper., Attach two marshmallow halves onto cookie for eyes; add decorating icing for pupils and a mouth. Add an M&M or Red Hot for nose. Attach pretzels or pretzel pieces for antlers. Repeat. Let stand until set.

REINDEER MASK COOKIES

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture; beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 2 even pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top.
• Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment sheets into a square about 1/4-inch thick and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, cut out 8 cookies with a 2 1/2-inch cutter and 4 cookies with a 2 1/4-inch cutter. Make the masks by placing 2 of the larger cookies on the prepared baking sheet next to each other so they are barely touching. Place one of the wooden sticks in the middle of the cookies. Place one of the smaller cookies on top of the stick to secure the pieces together. Repeat with remaining cookies, placing each mask about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Refrigerate while you cut the remaining cookies. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat the freezing, cutting and refrigerating process until all the dough is used.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, for the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons water and the vanilla and whip with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water if needed). The white will be your muzzle, so it needs to be very stiff so that it holds a textured shape.
• Fit 3 pastry bags with a small tips - 2 with small round tips and 1 with a small closed star tip. Remove 1 cup of frosting and place in the piping bag with a small closed star tip.
• Put 1/4 cup of the remaining frosting into a small bowl. Add 12 drops of the dark brown food coloring and whisk until combined. This will be used to outline the cheeks and to draw the mouth, so it needs to be thick but not as stiff as the white. (The food coloring should be enough added liquid but add a drop of water if it is still too thick.)
• Add 7 to 9 drops of the light brown food coloring to the frosting still in the mixer. Add a few drops of water. Beat until combined and loose, adding more water if necessary. This will be the flood color for the cheeks, so it needs to be loose but not watery.
• Pipe a line of the dark brown icing around the outer edge of each cheek (the large cookies). This will be the rim that contains the light brown flood so make sure there are no gaps or holes. Repeat with remaining cookies. Once you have finished the edges of all the cookies, check to make sure the first cookie is dry. If not, wait 5 to 10 more minutes until the edges are dry. Then flood each of the cheeks with the light brown frosting. Allow the cookies to dry for 10 to 15 minutes before continuing to decorate (depending on how fast you are, this might be as long as it takes you to flood all the cookies). Once the cheeks are dry, fill the center circle with piped white swirls. Place a red gummy candy halve in the middle of each circle just above the center. Lastly, pipe a mouth onto your mask - starting at the candy nose, pipe a small line down that curves out into hooks in opposite directions. Repeat with remaining noses. Let the cookies dry completely before serving and wearing.

GINGERBREAD REINDEER

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until well blended.
• Beat the granulated sugar and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl starting on low speed and increasing to medium, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses until combined, then beat in the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until the mixture comes together. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until well incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Divide the dough in half, flatten into 2 disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Keeping one disk refrigerated, roll the other disk on a well-floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch, sprinkling flour on and under the dough as needed and sliding a spatula underneath every so often to prevent sticking. If the dough looks crackly or breaks apart, press it back together from the outside edge in. With a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies as close together as possible. Pull away the extra dough around each shape and use a small spatula to transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Gather together the scraps, leaving behind the excess flour, knead a few times to form a smooth dough again and reroll in the same way. (If there are any pieces of stuck dough on your surface, scrape them away with a spatula, flour the surface again and then continue to roll the dough.)
• Bake the cookies in the center of the oven racks, rotating them from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until slightly firm to the touch but not brown, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before icing. The cookies will continue to firm as they cool. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing for decorating. Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 6 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on low until the icing thickens. The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. (If overbeaten, it will get aerated, which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the icing sit for a bit to settle, then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth it out.)
• Spoon about 1/3 cup of icing into each of 3 separate bowls (cover any remaining icing with plastic wrap and reserve in case you need more). Leave 1 bowl white. Dye the second bowl black and the third light brown. Thin out the light brown icing with 1 teaspoon water. Transfer the icing to separate resealable plastic bags. Snip a very tiny hole in the corner of the white and black icing bags, and snip a larger hole in the corner of the light brown icing bag.
• Place each cookie right side up in front of you. With the black icing, pipe an outline around the head of each cookie, around the arms and across the chest with a bowed line. Turn the gingerbread man upside down so it is standing on its head; now you can see the shape of the reindeer's head. Pipe black antlers coming out of the top of the head, over the gingerbread man's legs and feet.
• Using the loose light brown icing, flood each reindeer's head, using a toothpick to nudge the icing into any tight spots. Place a red cinnamon candy in the center of each face for the nose. Dry until set, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
• Once the brown base has dried, pipe on the rest of the face. Pipe 2 white dots above the nose for the whites of the eyes, and 2 white dots on the underside of the ears for downy fur. Use the black icing to pipe a smiling mouth and eyebrows. Once the white icing has slightly dried, pipe in black pupils. Give your reindeer some personality! Let the icing dry until hardened, 1 hour or ideally overnight.
• The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but are best eaten fresh.

REINDEER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, flour, melted butter and egg until soft dough forms. On floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with floured 4-inch reindeer-shaped cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In small bowl, mix white icing and food color. Spread over heads and bodies of reindeer. Frost antlers, tails and hooves with chocolate frosting. Decorate as desired with decorating gel. Let stand until set.

EASY REINDEER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the cookie mix, oil and egg until well combined. Shape into a 7-1/2-in. roll; securely wrap roll in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. , Preheat oven to 350°. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using thumb and forefinger, squeeze each cookie slice at the equator, making a slight indentation on each side of the cookie. Press in pretzels for antlers. , Bake until light brown, 9-11 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Place melted chocolate chips in a piping bag or resealable bag; cut a small opening at the corner. Adhere eyes and noses to cookies using small amount of melted chocolate. Pipe mouth and eyebrows using melted chocolate; allow chocolate to set before serving.

EASY REINDEER COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, leaving foil overhanging at 2 opposite sides of pan; spray with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, mix cookie mix, softened butter, cream cheese and egg with spoon until soft dough forms. Spread dough in bottom of pan. Bake 19 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour.
• Remove bars from pan by lifting foil; peel foil away. Spread frosting over top. Cut into 27 triangles as follows: Using sharp knife, cut into 3 horizontal rows. Cut each row into 9 triangles so each triangle has about a 2-inch wide base, cleaning knife with paper towel after each cut to keep frosting clean of crumbs. (See diagram below.) Set aside end pieces for snacking.
• For each reindeer: Press 2 halved pretzels on top corners of cookie triangle for antlers, 2 candy eyeballs in center for eyes, 1 brown candy on tip of triangle for nose (use photo as guide). Repeat with remaining cookie triangles. Store covered in airtight container in single layer.

REINDEER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl cream together butter, shortening, peanut butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add and eggs, mixing after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
• In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix gently to combine. Don't over-mix. The dough will be very soft. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Scoop dough into large balls and roll them into an oval shape. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes until set and no longer glossy looking.
• Remove from oven. Press pretzels into the top of the cookie, for the ears. Press a rolo into the center, for the nose. Add two candy eyes, or chocolate chips for the eyes. Place a dot of frosting in the center of the rolo to secure a red m&m candy on top, for the nose. Allow to cool on baking sheet. then transfer to cooling rack.

REINDEER COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. With hands, shape roll of cookie dough into triangle-shaped log. (If dough is too soft to cut, place in freezer 30 minutes.)
• With thin sharp knife, cut dough into 32 (1/4-inch-thick) triangular slices; on ungreased cookie sheets, place 2 inches apart. Place 2 pretzel twists on each triangle near corners for antlers.
• Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until set. While warm, lightly press 2 chocolate chips into each cookie for eyes and 1 cherry half for nose. Remove from cookie sheets. Let stand until chocolate chips are set, about 15 minutes. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container.
• Candy-coated chocolate candies or gumdrops may be substituted for the cherry nose.