Chocolate Reindeer Brownie Cookies

Only 3 days until Christmas and the reindeer’s are getting ready.

I adapted my Brownie cookies to these ULTRA SCRUMPTIOUS and indulgent dark chocolate and cherry cookies, filled with dark chocolate chips, cherry liquor and cherries. Decorated with pretzel antlers and a glaće cherry nose, these cookies are sure to bring a smile to your face this festive season.

They’re one for the adults due to the alcohol, but remove the cherry liquor for cherry extract/flavouring for a non-alcoholic option.

I used the Fancy Sprinkles edible silver stars to help add some magic to these cookies.

Use the code: LITTLEVEGAN15 for 15% off your order on Fancy Sprinkles.

Check out their vegan sprinkle range here! I use their products all the time and their range of vegan sprinkles, edible glitter etc is amazing!

Can my Brownie cookies get any better? Yes, yes then can with added dark chocolate chips and cherries! These cookies are ultra-decadent, chocolaty and indulgent with a lovely fruitiness. The glaće cherries give these brookies a chewy texture and the liquor gives them a richness, they taste as good as they sound!

Why you need to make these cookies:

They’re extremely rich and Chocolate
Chewy, gooey, and fudgy
Cherry + chocolate = dream flavour combo
They are egg-free
Crinkle tops with a crisp shine

Looking for more Christmas dessert inspo? Look no further:

Preparation: 5 minutes

Baking time: 15 minutes

Makes: Approximately 8-10

Level: Easy

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Ingredients for the cookies

50g of plain flour
10g of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
80g of apple sauce
15g of light brown sugar
80g of caster sugar
30g of dairy-free butter/margarine
110g of dairy-free dark chocolate
1 teaspoon of cherry liquor or cherry extract/flavouring
50g of dark chocolate chips
20g of glaze cherries (roughly chopped)

Decoration

Mini pretzels
Glaće cherries
White fondant or vegan white chocolate chips
Edible stars / glitter (optional)

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Method (cookies)
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees c and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.

2. In a bowl, sieve in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and stir together until combined.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add in the apple sauce, light brown sugar and caster sugar.
Whip together for 2-4 minutes until the apple sauce is smooth and pale in colour.
Best to use an electric hand whisk or stand mixer fitted with the balloon whisk attachment.

You can use a wooden spoon, it might just take more time.

4. Place the dairy-free butter/margarine and chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and place on top of a saucepan with water-filled half of the way up making a bain-marie.
Gently simmer until the butter and chocolate have completely melted.

5. If you’re using a stand mixer, reduce the speed and slowly add in the chocolate mixture along with the cherry liquor or cherry extract/ flavouring.
Once it’s all in the bowl, whip up on medium speed for 30 seconds to incorporate everything together.

6. Slowly add in the flour mixture and fold in. The mixture will resemble brownie batter.

7. Fold in the dairy-free chocolate chips and chopped glaće cherries.

8. Using a small ice cream scoop or two dessert spoons, scoop a golf ball size about of batter and place onto the lined baking trays. make sure to leave an approximate 3-inch space between the cookies as they do spread out whilst baking.

Work fast with this step as the batter will firm up when standing at room temperature for too long.

9. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, rotate the baking tray and bake for a further 5 minutes.
TIP: It’s best to bake one tray at a time in the center of your oven.

10. Remove the trays from the oven. Before the cookies cool down, use a circular cookie cutter, a tiny bit larger than the cookies. Place it around the cookie and nudge the edges of the cookies towards the center. This makes the cookies have a round shape, and they will all be symmetrical.

Allow the cookies to cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking trays.

They will be very soft when you remove them from the oven, but when they cool, they’ll firm up and you can use a spatula to remove them from the trays and onto a cool rack or serving plate.

11. For more chocolaty goodness, while the cookies are still warm, add some chocolate chips on top of each cookie (optional).

Decorate the cookies whilst warm so the decorations melt and stick to the cookies.

12. Break some mini pretzels in half and press into the cookie, cut a glaće cherry in half and add one half into the middle of the cookie, this is for the nose. Use some white fondant to roll into small balls for the eyes and some melted chocolate to make the dot in the middle of the eyes.

If you don’t have white fondant, you can use some white chocolate chips, just add the chocolate chips when the cookie is cool as the white chocolate chips may melt.

Sprinkle over some glitter or star sprinkles for added Christmas magic.

Best stored in a sealed container, and enjoyed within 3 days of making.
they can be left out the fridge, just make sure they’re in an airtight container.