Santa and Reindeer Cookies

With the help of premade dough, our cheery treats are a delight to decorate.

Ingredients

For Santa cookies:

• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 (16.5 oz.) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 cup red candy melts, melted 
• ¼ cup red decorating sugar 
• 1½ cups white candy melts, melted 
• 1 cup white pearl sprinkles
• 10 mini marshmallows, halved 
• 20 red Sixlets candies
• 40 small round black candies
• ¼ cup dark chocolate frosting

For reindeer cookies:

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 (16.5 oz.) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 20 thin pretzel
• 1 cup white candy melts, melted 
• ½ cup white pearl sprinkles
• 20 Spree candy
• 40 black Sixlets
• 20 mini marshmallows
• ¼ cup dark chocolate frosting

Instructions

For Santa cookies:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Knead flour into dough; divide in half. Shape into disks; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 2 hrs. On floured surface, roll out dough, one disk at a time, to scant ¼” thickness. Using 3″ heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes, rerolling scraps as needed. Place 2″ apart on baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 8–9 min. Transfer to rack; cool.
2. Dip 1¼” of pointed end of each cookie into red candy allowing excess to drip off; sprinkle with red sugar. Place white candy melts in plastic food storage bag; snip 1⁄8″ from corner. Pipe Santa’s beard onto cookies, spreading to smooth. Decorate with sprinkles. Chill until set, 5 min. For pom-poms, dot white candy at hat points; press on marshmallow halves cut sides down. Pipe lines across base of each hat. For faces, pipe 3 dots on each cookie; attach red Sixlets for noses and black candies for eyes. Place chocolate frosting in plastic food storage bag; snip 1⁄16″ corner from corner. Pipe on smiles as shown.

For reindeer cookies:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Knead flour and 3 Tbs. cocoa powder into cookie dough. Chill 2 hrs. On floured surface, roll out dough, one disk at a time, to scant ¼” thickness. Using 3″ heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes, rerolling scraps as needed. Place 2″ apart on baking sheets.
• Break pretzels in half vertically (remove middle sections); for antlers, press 2 pieces, ½” from edge, into curved sides of each heart. Bake until edges are golden, 8–9 min. Transfer to rack; cool.
• Using white candy melts, pipe zigzag between antlers and top with white sprinkles, then attach Spree candy for nose and black Sixlets for eyes.
• For ears, toss mini marshmallows in remaining cocoa powder, cut diagonally in half and attach as shown. Chill. Place chocolate frosting in plastic food storage bag; snip 1⁄16″ corner from corner. Pipe on smiles and lashes as shown.