Description
These easy reindeer cookies are a festive treat perfect for the holiday season. Made with a buttery and tender dough, filled with sweet strawberry jam, and decorated with melted milk chocolate, they bring joyful cheer and adorable charm to any Christmas gathering.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookie Dough
- 140g (1/2 Cup + 1/8 Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 60g (1/2 Cup) Icing/Confectioners Sugar
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 210g (1 + 2/3 Cup) Plain/All Purpose Flour
For the Filling and Decoration
- 200g (1/2 Cup + 2 tbsp) Strawberry Jam
- 75g (2.6 oz) Milk Chocolate
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: Place the butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt into a stand mixer bowl and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, creating a smooth base for your cookie dough.
- Add the Flour: Gradually add the plain flour to the wet mixture and fold it through gently until a soft dough forms. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface for uniform texture.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 6mm thickness. Use a 6cm round cookie cutter to cut out circles, then take a 1cm circle cutter to cut a smaller circle off-center from half of the large circles to create the ‘nose’ holes.
- Chill the Dough: Arrange the cookies on a lined baking tray and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the dough, ensuring better shape retention during baking.
- Preheat and Bake: Preheat the oven to 180ºC (Fan 170ºC/356ºF). Place the chilled cookies spaced out on a lined baking tray and bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden around the edges. Bake in batches if necessary.
- Cool the Cookies: Allow the cookies to firm on the tray for a minute or two once out of the oven, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely to avoid breaking during decorating.
- Prepare the Jam Filling: Soften the strawberry jam in a small bowl, then transfer it to a disposable piping bag. Snip the tip to control the flow of jam for precise filling.
- Assemble the Cookies: Pipe jam circles onto whole cookies without nose holes, taking care not to overfill or go too close to the edges. Then carefully place the cookies with nose holes on top, gently pressing to allow the jam to peek through the small holes, forming a cute red nose effect.
- Melt the Chocolate: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the milk chocolate using 10-second bursts. When two-thirds melted, stir until fully smooth and melted. Pour the chocolate into a piping bag and snip the end for decorating.
- Decorate the Cookies: Pipe chocolate eyes just above the red noses, then pipe the main lines for the antlers on each cookie. Add detailed touches such as downward-pointing arrow shapes on the antlers for an intricate festive look.
- Set and Store: Allow the decorated cookies to set completely on a rack. Store them in a metal tin at room temperature and consume within 4-5 days for day-fresh flavor and texture.
Notes
- CRAZY cute, these easy reindeer cookies are guaranteed to bring joy to everyone you love this Christmas!
- Chilling the dough is essential to avoid spreading during baking.
- Be gentle when sandwiching cookies to prevent the jam from squishing out.
- Use disposable piping bags for easy cleanup after decorating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 275
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 26 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 46 mg
