Reindeer Sugar Cookies

Can you spot Rudolph in this picture? :) I love these little reindeer cookies! The website where I got this idea from contains a sugar cookie recipe that you can use. Or you can take the easy route like I did and use already-made sugar cookie dough. My son had a cookie dough fundraiser a month ago so I had some in the freezer that needed to be used up.



The cookies in the picture above were made by taking baked sugar cookies and cutting them in fourths. The antlers are the letter "E" from a bag of alphabet pretzels I found at Meijer. I used mini M&M's for the noses.

The cookies below are bigger. I made one reindeer out of one baked cookie by just cutting a couple strips off the sides. I cut off the top edge of mini pretzels to make the antlers and used regular sized M&M's.





Reindeer Sugar Cookies
Source: www.allyou.com

Cookies:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. baking soda
Pinch salt
1 stick (1/4 lb.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. grated orange zest
1/4 t. vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 T. lemon juice

Decoration:
5 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
32 small pretzels, half plain and half yogurt-covered, cut to reindeer horn shape
32 M&M's Minis
32 white jelly beans, halved (I used mini marshmallows)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Make cookies: Sift flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, zest and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in yolk. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with lemon juice.

3. Form balls using 2 Tbsp. dough for each. Arrange 2 inches apart on sheet; flatten each to a 3-inch round. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, for 8 minutes, until edges are golden. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Cut each cookie into 4 wedges; cool completely.

4. Decorate cookies: Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Spread each cookie with chocolate, add 2 pretzel horns, 2 jelly bean eyes and an M&M nose to each. Dot each eye with chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is set, 10 minutes.