Last Minute Cookies for Christmas

I must admit that I didn't write yesterday. I thought about writing, but what is that saying, "good intentions pave the way to..."? So to make up for flaking out on you yesterday, here is a quick little recipe for last minute Christmas cookies that will make you look like you slaved away in the kitchen- reindeer cookies!

I first saw these on Pinterest and thought they were super cute! The original pin from Handmade in the Heartland gives a recipe for "from scratch" peanut butter cookies as the basis for them. Her recipe looks great, but there are 2 things that concern me so I adlibbed. The first concern I had was possible allergies in my daughter's classroom, so I wanted to avoid peanut butter. Although the darker color makes the reindeers look more authentic. The second concern was that I don't truly like to cook from scratch! At my house, we have Bert Crocker instead of Betty! Unfortunately, Chad didn't have the time to bake before her party, so Momma to the rescue!

Ingredients needed:
Ready to bake sugar cookies or peanut butter cookies
M&Ms
Milk Chocolate baking chips
Mini Pretzels

Time needed:
About 30-45 minutes for 2 dozen cookies in 2 rounds of 12.

Follow the directions on the package of your ready to bake cookies. When they are done, immediately decorate with the antlers, nose, and eyes.

Here are some tips to help everything go smoothly:
1) While your cookies are baking, cut the antlers down to size and separate the red M&Ms.
2) To cut the antlers, just remove the round parts of the pretzels. I found that using my paring knife, it was best for me to cut both edges at once, meaning I placed the knife down on the pretzel and pushed instead of sawing off one edge and then the other. When I tried to just cut with the tip, the pretzels broke instead of cutting.
3) Stick the antlers in 1st to give you a good guide for the rest of the face.
4) If you can buy the Christmas M&Ms it will save you a little time hunting the red M&Ms. Plus if you look at Handmade's picture, she uses the leftover M&Ms to create a beautiful display with her cookies!
5) Be sure to thoroughly cool the cookies and chocolate chip eyes before packaging. You can stack them by alternating the antlers, but you want to be sure the eyes are cooled so they don't stick to the bottoms of the other cookies. I used a large aluminum disposable roasting pan to transport my cookies.

Enjoy your treat! I will be back tomorrow with another Friday How To.

Merry Christmas!  <3 ya all!
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