What? Healthy Reindeer Cookies? This cannot be true, Cara (you are thinking). I see chocolate. I see pretzels. I see googly eyes. How? What? They are cookies. But…

Okay let’s break it down and start with the pretzels. We HAVE to start with the pretzels first because there is so much goodness all in one thing. First off, they are homemade. I know. Allow some time to let that sink in. I actually MADE those puppies because if I cannot eat grains or yeast for the time-being you better believe that I am going to make grain and yeast-free pretzels just so I can have flippin’ antlers for my healthy reindeer cookies. Click here for the beautiful recipe for Homemade Mini Pretzels. 

Secondly, chocolate. Dark chocolate to be exact. I really don’t feel like I need to justify dark chocolate. Healthy? You better believe it when in moderation. Want a no refined sugar option? Try this Homemade Raw Chocolate. Next! Homemade googly eyes? They are simply a must. Confession time: I don’t eat these. I create these fun eyes because I NEED them to make my baked goods adorable. And finally, the cookies. Oh, these roll-out cookies. Lightly sweetened and full of good-for-you ingredients. See? I have you covered this Christmas with these Healthy Reindeer Cookies. Any other questions?

Reindeer Cookies: Grain Free Vegan

• Author: Fork & Beans
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Yield: Makes 15 Cookies

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. coconut flour
• 1/3 c. arrowroot powder
• 2 Tbsp. buckwheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pinch of nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. coconut oil
• 1/4 c. almond butter
• 1/4 c. raw honey (or use maple syrup for vegan option)
• 1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp. warm water – mix together until thickened for 5 minutes
• 1/2 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar

Other Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. dark chocolate + 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted together
• 30 homemade grain free mini pretzels (or use store-bought)
• 30 homemade googly eyes
• 15 freeze-dried cranberries (or other red dried fruit)
• 4″ Christmas Tree cookie cutter

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Instructions

1. Dip the homemade pretzels into the melted dark chocolate and allow to set on a piece of wax paper. Freeze until set.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl and mix until a nice dough forms. The dough should not be too sticky but moist. If too sticky, add a tablespoon of coconut flour until no longer sticky. Form into three even-sized dough balls.
4. Roll one dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper until 1/4″ thick. Cut out shapes and transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with each dough ball.
5. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Keep and eye on the cookies during the last 2 minutes to make sure they don’t burn.
6. Allow to completely cool and firm up.
7. Using the melted chocolate, “glue” the googly eyes, nose (cranberry), and chocolate-covered pretzels for the antlers. Allow to set for 10 minutes.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Reindeer cookie
• Calories: 125g
• Sugar: 5.5g
• Sodium: 90mg
• Fat: 6g
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Fiber: 0.7g
• Protein: 2g

Recipe notes:

These are not sugary cookies. In fact, I only used 1/4 c. raw honey for the sweetness, on top of the 1/2 c. of coconut flour which automatically lends a natural sweet flavor to the recipe. This means that per cookie, there is only a little over 1 teaspoon of raw honey as compared to the regular sugar roll-out that has a whooping 1 c. of granulated sugar at least. 

If you a vegan option, instead of raw honey replace with maple syrup. Easy. 

The coconut flour in the recipe does not allow the cookies to get super crispy. That is the natural texture that coconut flour lends. You will find the edges nice and firm and the middle to be a little more soft. Still delicious!

On Dancer, on Prancer! (that’s all the reindeer names I know)… Help us make Rudolf cookies.