Easy Chocolate Reindeer Cookies

3 reindeer cookies on a white plate, with a mug of hot chocolate in the background

5 from 2 votes

Created by: Fun Cookie Recipes

24 cookies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 27

Fun and easy Chocolate Reindeer Cookies that you can make with your kids! These triple chocolate cake mix cookies are so easy to make and use simple pantry ingredients.

Equipment

Cookie Sheets

Mixing bowl

Spatula

Medium cookie scoop, 1.5 tablespoons

Wire rack

Ingredients

▢ 15.oz box chocolate cake mix I used Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Fudge
▢ ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted (or vegetable oil)
▢ 2 large eggs at room temperature
▢ ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
▢ 10.oz package milk chocolate melting wafers
▢ 24 nilla wafers
▢ 24 red and brown M&M’s candies
▢ 48 pieces eyeball candy
▢ 48 pieces mini pretzels

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350℉/180°C, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix with melted butter and eggs. Mix with a spatula to combine. Then fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Using a medium cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoon size), form cookie dough balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until the tops are set. Be careful not to overbake them.
Remove from the oven, and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the chocolate coating, use a microwave-safe bowl and melt the chocolate melting wafers in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals stirring in between until completely melted. Be careful not to overheat the candy.
Spread about half a tablespoon of melted chocolate over each cookie, then decorate (work quickly and in 2 batches as the melting wafers will set quickly and you want the decorations to stick).
Decorate with 2 pretzels per cookie, 1 nilla wafer, and 2 eyeballs. Then dab a little chocolate on top of the nilla wafer, and place a red or brown M&M right on top for the nose.
Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving, usually takes about 30 minutes.

Notes

Use a Cookie Scoop. I love using cookie scoops for all of my drop cookies. A scoop allows you to easily portion out the dough, giving you cookies that are uniformly sized. I used a medium scoop that makes 1.5 tablespoon cookies and I got 24 cookies in total.
Change up the Design: Candy eyes can be substituted with chocolate chips, if you can't find nilla wafers you can use vanilla melting wafers instead. And if you don't have enough mini pretzels, you can cut them in half to make the horns.
To Store: Keep these cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These cookies can be frozen without the glaze for up to 3 months.

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