Reindeer Peanut Butter Cookies

Ready to Eat

Ready to Bake

1 c. butter (may use half shortening)

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

1 c. peanut butter, smooth or chunky

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2-3 cups all purpose flour

small pretzel twists (about 96 - 1/2 - 12 oz. bag)

chocolate chips and/or M&Ms

Preheat oven to 375˚.

Cream butter, sugars, and peanut butter. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and baking soda and beat well.

Mix in flour until well blended. I started with 2 cups but it was not thick enough to shape into triangles; I needed 3 c. total of flour to get the right consistency of dough.

Shape a scoop or ball of dough into an elongated isosceles triangle and flatten slightly on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Press two mini pretzels into large end of the triangle. Add eyes and nose. You can use chocolate chips for the eyes and nose, or 2 chips and a red M&M for "Rudolph," or all M&Ms for eyes and nose.

Bake in preheated 375˚ oven about 10-13 minutes, until lightly browned. Let  cool for a minute or two on cookie sheet, then transfer carefully to cooling rack. Yield 48 - 3.5"x3" cookies.

Note: next time I will make the deer faces narrower and smaller. It should then yield 5 dozen cookies. 12 cookies fit on a large baking sheet allowing room for expansion. These turned out fairly fat, like the deer that walk by our windows all the time (except ours aren't reindeer)!