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These Reindeer Gingerbread Cookies are such a fun twist on classic gingerbread men for Christmas. The secret is that you don’t need a reindeer cookie cutter at all. We use a regular gingerbread man cookie cutter, turn the finished cookies upside down, and decorate them with chocolate antlers, candy eyes, and an M&M nose.

Once you flip the gingerbread man over, it’s kind of funny how perfectly it works. His legs become the reindeer’s antlers, and the head becomes the bottom of the reindeer’s face. Add a red M&M nose and you’ve got Rudolph!

We’re making the gingerbread cookies from scratch, so you’ll need to plan ahead for the dough to chill. You can also make the dough the night before and turn this into a fun Christmas cookie decorating project the next day.

Reindeer Cookies Using a Gingerbread Man Cutter

My favorite thing about these cookies is that you don’t have to buy another Christmas cookie cutter that you’ll use once a year.

We’re actually making regular gingerbread men first. Once they’re baked and cooled, turn each gingerbread man upside down before you start decorating.

The legs at the top give you the basic shape for the antlers. Then we’ll use melted chocolate to add more detail to the antlers and attach candy eyes and an M&M nose.

You can use red M&Ms to make Rudolph cookies or brown M&Ms for the rest of his reindeer friends. Make a mixture of both if you’re making a whole batch.

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour
• Ground Ginger
• Ground Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Unsalted Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Unsulphered Molasses
• 1 Egg
• Vanilla Extract
• Chocolate Chips
• Candy Eyeballs
• Red or Brown M&Ms

The molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg give these cookies that classic gingerbread flavor. Make sure you’re using unsulphured molasses, rather than blackstrap molasses, which has a much stronger and more bitter flavor.

You’ll find the exact amounts for everything in the recipe card below.

How to Make Reindeer Gingerbread Cookies

Make the Gingerbread Dough

Add the softened butter and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. You can also use a large mixing bowl and hand mixer. Cream them together until light and fluffy.

Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla and mix again until everything is well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing between each addition. Continue until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated and your gingerbread dough comes together.

Chill the Dough

Once the dough is mixed, generously flour your work surface, either a clean counter or a large piece of parchment paper, and dump your dough onto the floured surface.

Flour your hands, or use a piece of parchment paper to fold the dough together enough to wrap it in parchment and place in a gallon ziploc bag.

Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hour, or for best results, overnight.

Don’t skip the chilling time. A nice cold dough is much easier to roll and cut, and it helps the gingerbread men keep their shape while they bake. That’s especially helpful for these cookies since we need those little gingerbread legs to become our reindeer antlers later.

Cut and Bake the Gingerbread Men

After the dough has chilled, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Generously flour your work space again, plus your hands and rolling pin. Roll out your gingerbread dough, until ¼ inch thick. The edges don’t need to be perfect, they may crack but that’s okay.

Use your gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out ¼ inch thick ginger men in all of the places you can where the dough is solid, avoiding any thinner or cracked edges. We are going to re-roll the excess dough.

Place your cut out ginger men on the prepared baking sheet. Gather up your leftover dough, and re-roll to repeat this process and make more ginger men, until all the dough is used up. For best results, and because this may take a while, chill your cut out gingerbread men in the refrigerator again for about 45 minutes.

Move the cookies to your preheated oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just crisping. Be careful not to overbake.

Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.

How to Turn a Gingerbread Man Into a Reindeer

Once cookies have cooled, turn the gingerbread men upside down and use the melted chocolate to attach your candy eyes & M&M noses, and then draw on your reindeer antlers.

NOTE: You’ll want to allow the melted chocolate to set before putting the cookies into any containers.

Tips for the Best Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

• Give yourself time for chilling. These aren’t really a last-minute Christmas cookie because the dough needs several hours in the refrigerator. Making the dough one evening and baking the cookies the next day makes the whole process easier.
• Keep your dough fairly thick. I roll mine to about 1/4 inch. You want the gingerbread men sturdy enough to hold up to decorating without their little antlers breaking off.
• Don’t overbake them. Pull the cookies when the edges are just beginning to crisp.
• Let them cool completely before decorating. Melted chocolate and warm cookies are not a particularly helpful combination.
• Let the chocolate set before storing them. Otherwise, your cute reindeer faces can get smudged when you stack or move the cookies.

Reindeer Gingerbread Cookies FAQs

We hope you love these delicious gingerbread reindeer cookies as much as we do, the recipe is in-depth, but this is by far the most delicious gingerbread cookie recipe we’ve ever made. The possibilities are endless whether you want to make these fun reindeer, or some classically decorated gingerbread cookies. This dough is the ultimate holiday gingerbread dough. Let us know if you make them in the comments below!

Do I need a reindeer cookie cutter?

No! That’s what makes these cookies so much fun. They’re made with a regular gingerbread man cookie cutter. Once the cookies have baked and cooled, simply turn the gingerbread men upside down and decorate them as reindeer.

How do you turn a gingerbread man into a reindeer?

Turn the baked gingerbread man upside down so his legs are at the top. The legs become the reindeer’s antlers. Add candy eyes and an M&M nose to the body of the gingerbread man, then use melted chocolate to add detail to the antlers.

Can I make the gingerbread dough ahead of time?

Yes. In fact, I prefer making the dough the day before I plan to bake the cookies. It needs to chill for at least 6 hours anyway, so an overnight chill works really well.

Can I make Rudolph gingerbread cookies?

Absolutely. Just use a red M&M for the nose. You can make all of the cookies Rudolph or use a mixture of red and brown M&Ms to make Rudolph and his reindeer friends.

How should I store reindeer gingerbread cookies?

Once the chocolate has completely set, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you need to stack them, place parchment or wax paper between the layers to help protect the decorations.

More Fun Christmas Treats

If you’re making these for a Christmas party or a day of holiday baking, I have a few more fun reindeer and Christmas treats you can add to the list.

My Christmas Brownies include both Christmas tree and reindeer brownies, and my Reindeer Pretzel Treats use Rolos and pretzels to make another really easy Rudolph treat.

For something savory, try the Reindeer Cheese Ball.

For an adorable little salty sweet treat, these Reindeer Pretzels are made with Rolo candies- so yummy!

For a super easy reindeer-themed treat, try these fun and delicious Reindeer Cupcakes.

For a fun idea, try our Gingerbread Dip– dip cookies, fruit, and more!

These reindeer gingerbread cookies take a little more time than some of our easier Christmas treats, but they’re such a fun one to make when you’re in the mood for a real holiday baking project. I especially love that you can turn an ordinary gingerbread man cutter into something completely different. Once you add those chocolate antlers, candy eyes, and little red noses, it’s hard not to smile at them.

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