These Reindeer Animal Cookies are a holiday twist on classic frosted animal cookies. The crisp, honey-sweetened cut-out cookies are spiced with cinnamon and a bright, tart hint of sumac, then dipped in white chocolate and topped with white sprinkles, with a red sprinkle for Rudolph’s nose. They’re perfect for holiday cookie boxes, cookie exchanges, and decorating with kids, and the dough can be made ahead and frozen. No reindeer cutter? Try stars, trees, snowflakes, or any holiday shape.
Jump to:
- More festive holiday cookies from Baking The Goods
- Based on my Frosted Animal Cookies
- These Reindeer Animal Cookies are made with these key ingredients
- What is sumac?
- The cookies taste like cherries!
- Customize your Reindeer Animal Cookie
- How to mix the cinnamon and sumac scented cookie dough
- How to roll out the cookie dough & cut the reindeer cookies
- How to decorate the Reindeer Animal Cookies
- Recipe
- Comments
The cheer is palpable with these Reindeer Animal Cookies. They practically prance off the plate. It's impossible not to feel all warm and fuzzy when these holiday animal cookies are around.
More festive holiday cookies from Baking The Goods
In years past I have partnered up with my pals from Bob's Red Mill to develop festive and fun holiday recipes. I baked up these easy Cherry Pistachio and White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. The year before was my now classic, Cardamom Coconut Snowflake Cookies. Both of these recipes are a surefire way to get you in the spirit of the season. And now these Reindeer Animal Cookies really take the holiday cookie reins.
These Reindeer Animal Cookies are the hap, hap happiest holiday cookie recipe
I've actually been making these reindeer cookies for years but somehow I've never shared the recipe. That's a real Scrooge move, so it's time to gift you all with this spirited twist on my classic Frosted Animal Cookies recipe.
It's hard to believe I've kept these cuties to myself all of these years. Sorry, my inner-Grinch was showing. Apologies. Please accept the gift of these quirky cousins of the reindeer cookies, my flocking adorable Gingerbread Coconut Llama Cookies!
A big thanks to my partners, Bob's Red Mill for making my spirits bright and helping me share this adorable recipe with you.
Based on my Frosted Animal Cookies
Here's the deal: this Reindeer Animal Cookies recipe isn't all that different from my Frosted Animal Cookies, but it has a few distinct changes. For starters, I swapped the shapes from the traditional farm or circus animal cookies to festive reindeer. Cute, cute, cute. They also have a natural, earthy sweetness from the essence of almond extract. But the real game changer here is the spices. I nixed the standard winter spices and blended cinnamon with sumac. What a great Grinchy trick!
These Reindeer Animal Cookies are made with these key ingredients
- Honey gives these cookies their graham cracker-flavored animal cookie roots!
- Cinnamon adds a spicy, wintery warmth that pairs well with the graham cracker undertones.
- Sumac brings a brightness with a soft citrus-like flavor.
- Vanilla extract rounds the cookies out with familiar flavor.
- Almond extract combines with the brightness of the sumac and creates a flavor profile that tastes like cherries!
- White chocolate is used to coat the cookies in their smooth coating, giving them that definitive animal cookie finish.
- Sprinkles are the finishing touch that transforms these cookies into the nostalgic animal cookie look we are all familiar with and fond of. Some cookies get a red Rudolph nose sprinkle just for jingles.
What is sumac?
I was hoping you'd ask. Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice tinted as red as Santa's suit. It comes from the flowering sumac bush and produces deep red berries. The berries get dried and then ground into a coarse powder.
Sumac is zesty like lemon but not quite as puckering, with slightly earthy undertones. It adds a tartness to the cookie dough that buddies up blissfully with the warmly spiced cinnamon. Something surprising happened to the Reindeer Animal Cookies when I added the sumac...
The cookies taste like cherries!
There must have been some magic in the combo of the bright sumac and the sweet and earthy almond extract. I'm not 100% sure, but whatever it was, it was very merry. Sumac rewrites the story of these cookies and gives them a bright storybook ending. So give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. But, if you aren't sold on the sumac, I've got a red velvet sack full of alternative ideas...
Customize your Reindeer Animal Cookie
- Switch up the spices. The original recipe uses cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. This version has cinnamon paired with bright and zesty sumac. Ginger or allspice would be nice or mix in chai spice!
- Do it for the graham. If you swap in half of the Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour for Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, it gives the cookies a deeper graham cracker flavor.
- Shape shift. I used reindeer cutters, but you don’t have to. My original version uses farm animals. Trees, Santas, ginger people, snowflakes or stars would all be adorable. Llamas or Christmas Corgis would be pretty cute too!
- C'mon now, dip baby, dip. I used white chocolate but imagine how yummy these babies would be dipped in dark chocolate. You could even go half and half.
- Color your world. I kept these cuties classic white with simple white sprinkles and an occasional red Rudolph nose. But nothing says you have to! Go pink and white like the store-bought animal cookies. Or color your white chocolate with any color your heart desires. But, and this is very important, you must use an oil-based (not water-based) food coloring with the white chocolate or it'll seize up.
- Top it off. These Reindeer have clean, winter white sprinkles but rainbow sprinkles are classic. Sometimes I use a holiday mix of red, green and white sprinkles. Shower your cookies in whatever sprinkles make your eyes twinkle.
How to mix the cinnamon and sumac scented cookie dough
Use a stand or hand mixer to mix the sumac and cinnamon scented cookie dough. Start by first creaming the sugar, room temperature butter and honey until light and fluffy. Then simply add the egg and extracts and blend. Then mix in the dry ingredients and blend until the dough just comes together. Simple.
How to roll out the cookie dough & cut the reindeer cookies
Dividing the cookie dough into 2 disks makes it easier to roll out evenly. Then you'll roll out the dough disks one at a time.
- Roll the reindeer cookie dough into somewhere in the ¼" - ⅛" thick range, this is the sweet spot. You want these reindeer cookies thick enough to hold up to the chocolate dip.
- Dip the cookie cutter in flour to keep the dough from sticking in the smaller details of the cookie cutter.
- Cut the reindeer cookies closely so you maximize cookie coverage with each dough roll.
- Gather the scraps and re-roll the dough. Then repeat the process until you've used every scrap of dough. We want all of that dough to live on as a happy little reindeer cookie!
How to decorate the Reindeer Animal Cookies
The possibilities are endless with these Holiday Animal Cookies. The cookies themselves have a snappy bite, just like the originals. But the white chocolate coating is extra indulgent. And the best part is, you don't need to spend hours of your life ornately piping royal icing.
- Melt the white chocolate until it's smooth and glossy when stirred.
- Dip the cookies in the chocolate, face down. Allow the excess to drip off until the reindeer cookies are covered in a thin, smooth white chocolate coat.
- Top with sprinkles and allow the iced cookies to set up on a cooling rack.
Holiday cookie decorating has never been easier! Yet, these Reindeer Animal Cookies are as cute as can be. The perfect mix for the busy holiday season.
These Reindeer Animal Cookies are an ideal bake 'n ship cookie
These cookies keep well, so they’re a great bake-and-ship cookie. They will last up to 2 weeks when sealed up tight. Therefore, they are a great bake 'n ship cookie. These holiday cookies are also great in the 11th hour, when you need something special to set out for the Big Guy but don't have a whole lotta time. You can even make the dough one day, roll out the reindeer dudes and freeze them up. Then on the big day, bake and top them off. Easy, festive and downright delicious.
With a seasonal spin, these Reindeer Animal Cookies tip a nostalgic nod to a childhood classic. The crisp, warmly scented cookies brightly pop with the sunny sumac and sweet honey notes. Combine that with a white chocolate coat and wintery white sprinkles, they are sure to make even the Grinchiest of small hearts grow three sizes. It worked for me.
This post was made in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. Follow Bob’s Red Mill on Instagram and Facebook or check out bobsredmill.com to shop their impressive lineup of flours, whole grains, seeds and so much more. Thank you for supporting me and the brands that I love!
Recipe
Reindeer Animal Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 5 dozen small cookies 1x
Description
These Reindeer Animal Cookies are a holiday twist on classic frosted animal cookies. The crisp, honey-sweetened cut-out cookies are spiced with cinnamon and a bright, tart hint of sumac, then dipped in white chocolate and topped with white sprinkles, with a red sprinkle for Rudolph’s nose. They’re perfect for holiday cookie boxes, cookie exchanges, and decorating with kids, and the dough can be made ahead and frozen. No reindeer cutter? Try stars, trees, snowflakes, or any holiday shape.
Ingredients
REINDEER ANIMAL COOKIES
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground sumac (or substitute lemon zest)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
WHITE CHOCOLATE COATING
- 12 ounces white chocolate melting wafers or baking bar, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons white sprinkles
- 1 teaspoon red sprinkles for Rudolph noses (optional)
Instructions
Make the Reindeer Animal Cookies
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sumac, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and honey on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and the vanilla and almond extracts and mix for about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour is absorbed.
- Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, dust the top of the dough with flour and roll it to ⅛ to ¼ inch thick.
- Cut out as many reindeer as you can, then re-roll the scraps and cut again until you've used all the dough. Place the cookies close together on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 20 minutes. This keeps them from spreading and helps them hold their sharp edges.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Arrange the chilled cookies on the sheets 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size, until the edges just start to turn golden. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
Dip and Decorate
- While the cookies cool, line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper, or set out wire racks.
- Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
- Working one at a time, dip the top of each cookie into the melted chocolate. Let the excess drip off, then set the cookie chocolate side up on the prepared sheet or rack. While the chocolate is still tacky, add the white sprinkles and a red sprinkle nose. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.
- Let the chocolate set for at least 2-3 hours. It will turn a matte white once it's set.
Notes
Make ahead: Mix the dough, then roll and cut the cookies. Freeze them on lined baking sheets until firm, then transfer them to freezer-safe bags. They'll keep for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time.
Microwave method: Place the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on medium power in 30-second bursts, stirring well after each one. If your microwave doesn't have power levels, use full power in 15-second bursts instead. Stop when the chocolate is mostly melted, then keep stirring until the last pieces melt and it's smooth. White chocolate scorches easily, so go slow and don't overheat it.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
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