gingerbread reindeer cookies

These Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies will surely be a hit with friends and family at your Christmas party. Tasty and easy to make, these fun cookies are great for a Christmas party cookie exchange too! A fun hit with everyone and made with a gingerbread man cookie cutter.

Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

all purpose flour

Ground ginger

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Baking soda

Salt

unsalted butter (softened)

brown sugar (packed)

½ cup unsulphured molasses

Vanilla

chocolate chips (melted)

candy eyeballs

red (or brown M&Ms)

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.

These delicious gingerbread reindeer cookies bake up soft and chewy and are topped with the most delicious buttercream frosting.

unsalted butter, room temperature (113 grams)

3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)

light brown sugar (50 grams)

1 large egg, room temperature (56 grams)

dark molasses (70 grams)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (290 grams)

ginger

cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

nutmeg

cloves

1/4 tsp fine salt

tsp vanilla extract (4 grams)

tsp fine salt

sugar (250 grams)

heavy cream or whole milk (30 grams)

piping bags

red, black, and brown gel food coloring

Stand Mixer or Electric Hand Mixer

Large, flat baking sheets

Tbsp Cookie Scoop

Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C...

Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.

Cream together 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup granulated...

Cream together 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 light brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the mixture becomes lighter in color (about 2 minutes).

Mix in 1 egg and 1/4 cup molasses...

Mix in 1 egg and 1/4 cup molasses on a medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.

Sift 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp ginger,...

Sift 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp salt into the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. The dough should be quite thick.

Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to...

Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to scoop and roll 14 cookie dough balls. Use about 3 Tbsp of dough per cookie.

Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on...

Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the cookies seem set in the center. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

While the cookies bake and cool, make the...

While the cookies bake and cool, make the buttercream frosting. Mix 1/2 cup butter on a medium speed in a large bowl for 30 seconds, or until smooth.

Add 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon,...

Add 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix on a medium speed until combined.

Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar and 2...

Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk on a low speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.

If the frosting is too thick, add an...

If the frosting is too thick, add an extra Tbsp of heavy cream. If it's too thin, add another 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. If you're not sure what consistency you're after, check out my buttercream consistency post.

Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, mix for...

Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, mix for an additional minute on a low speed to give the frosting a super smooth consistency.

Spread a thin layer of frosting on top...

Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cooled cookies using a small offset spatula or butter knife.

Divide the remaining frosting evenly between 3 small...

Divide the remaining frosting evenly between 3 small bowls. Use gel food coloring to color the frosting red, black, and brown. Place each color of frosting in a small piping bag fit with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 5) or use a freezer Ziplock bag and snip a small hole (about 1/2 cm) in one corner of the bag.

Use the black and red buttercream to add...

Use the black and red buttercream to add a nose and eyes on each cookie, then use the brown buttercream to add antlers.

Store the cookies at room temperature in an...

Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/tcixphctpouu446bnbrv.mp4

These delicious gingerbread cookies bake up soft and chewy and are topped with the most delicious buttercream frosting.

Top 2 gingerbread reindeer cookies recipes from across the web

The most viewed gingerbread reindeer cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

Top 2 gingerbread reindeer cookies recipes from across the web

The most viewed gingerbread reindeer cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

The most viewed gingerbread reindeer cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine