These easy peanut butter Christmas Reindeer Cookies are a delightful no-bake holiday treat to make with the kids. Peanut butter sandwich cookies are dipped in melted chocolate coating, then decorated with pretzel antlers, candy eyes, and a bright red nose. They’re simple to prepare, festive to display, and a fun activity for families during the holiday season.
This Reindeer Cookie recipe is ideal for busy parents who want a festive, crowd-pleasing snack without spending hours in the kitchen.
If sugar cookies and complicated decorating feel overwhelming, these reindeer treats are a great alternative. No rolling or cutting dough, no long baking times—just quick, charming results that still feel special.
Because they’re no-bake and easy to assemble, you can make a handful for a cozy family afternoon or scale up for holiday parties and cookie exchanges.
Decorating the cookies is often the best part—kids love arranging eyes and noses, and adults appreciate how little time and effort these reindeer require.
Why You’ll Love These Reindeer Decorated Cookies
- A fast way to add Christmas cheer without rolling and cutting dough—perfect for simple holiday baking with kids.
- No-bake Christmas cookies made from chocolate-dipped peanut butter sandwich cookies (Nutter Butters) with pretzel antlers and red candy noses.
- Easily scalable: make a few for a family snack or dozens for a party or cookie swap.
How to Make Christmas Reindeer Cookies
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oblong peanut butter sandwich cookies (Nutter Butters work great)
- White melting wafers or white chocolate chips
- Milk chocolate flavored melting wafers or chocolate coating
- Mini pretzel twists for antlers
- Candy eyeballs or mini chocolate chips
- Red candies (M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces) for noses
Instructions
Step 1: Melt the milk chocolate flavored wafers in a heatproof bowl according to package directions. You can microwave in short bursts, stirring between, or melt over a pan of barely simmering water (double boiler method).
Stir until the coating is completely smooth. Repeat the same process in a separate bowl with the white melting wafers if you want some cookies coated in white chocolate for variety.
Step 2: Line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper to catch drips and make cleanup easy.
Decorating The Reindeer Cookies
Step 1: Place two mini pretzels on the parchment paper side by side to form antlers. If you want them to stay in place, add a tiny dollop of melted candy coating to the paper as a glue and press the pretzels into it.
Tip: That small dollop is optional but helpful when decorating with little helpers. It keeps antlers steady while you work.
Step 2: Dip a peanut butter sandwich cookie into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to turn the cookie so it gets fully coated, then lift it and let excess coating drip back into the bowl.
Step 3: Gently set the coated cookie on top of the pretzel antlers. The pretzels might shift a bit—adjust them as needed to form the antler shape you want.
Step 4: Add candy eyeballs or mini chocolate chips slightly above the center or “waist” of the cookie to form the eyes.
Step 5: Press a red M&M or another red candy onto the bottom tip of the cookie for the nose. Repeat these steps until you’ve decorated as many reindeer as you like.
Once decorated, chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 5–10 minutes to fully set the chocolate coating.
Arrange your Reindeer Cookies in a single layer on a festive tray and serve. They’re perfect for cookie swaps, last-minute gatherings, classroom parties, or as a fun afternoon activity with kids.
Storing Your Reindeer Cookies
After the chocolate has set, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They keep well for several weeks if kept dry and away from heat.
No refrigeration is needed, which makes them convenient to leave on the counter for snacking—just keep them in a single layer or use parchment between layers so pretzel antlers don’t break off.
Tip: Storing in a single layer or separating layers with parchment helps preserve the antlers and decorations.
Variations
There are plenty of ways to customize these reindeer cookies to match your holiday colors and pantry supplies:
- Use chocolate- or peppermint-coated pretzels for fancier antlers.
- Swap Nutter Butters for any oblong sandwich cookie, or use Oreos for round reindeer faces.
- Choose Reese’s Pieces or other small candies for the nose instead of M&Ms.
- Try dark chocolate or colored melting wafers to create different looks for your reindeer team.
Can I double or half the amount of peanut butter reindeer cookies in this recipe?
Absolutely. This no-bake recipe is easy to scale up or down depending on how many cookies you want to make. A good rule of thumb: about 1 cup of melting wafers will coat roughly 9 Nutter Butter cookies. Use that ratio to plan how much coating you’ll need for larger batches.
The candy eyes sold in most packs will typically decorate around 30–32 cookies, so check your supplies before you start if you’re making a lot.
Other Holiday Recipes You May Like
If you enjoy easy holiday baking and no-fuss treats, try classic chewy snickerdoodles, simple cheesecake bars, or cookies-and-cream cheesecake for more festive dessert ideas.
Peanut Butter Red Nosed Reindeer Cookies
Ingredients
- 18 oblong peanut butter sandwich cookies (Nutter Butters)
- 1 cup white melting wafers
- 1 cup milk chocolate flavored melting wafers
- Mini pretzel twists
- Candy eyeballs or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Melt the milk chocolate wafer melts in a heatproof bowl using the microwave or a double boiler. Stir until smooth.
- Repeat with the white melting wafers in a separate bowl if desired.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment or wax paper.
- Form antlers by placing two mini pretzels side by side on the parchment. Optionally secure them with a small dab of melted candy.
- Dip a Nutter Butter into the melted chocolate, coating it completely. Lift and let excess drip off.
- Place the coated cookie on the pretzel antlers, adjust antlers as needed, then add candy eyes and a red candy nose.
- Repeat for remaining cookies, then chill 5–10 minutes to set the coating.
- Serve on a single layer on a festive platter and enjoy.