Reindeer brownies with pretzels are the ultimate Christmas chocolate treat! These fudgy brownies are decorated with adorable reindeer faces, using salty pretzel antlers, candy eyes, and red noses. Perfect for Christmas parties, these Rudolf brownies festive, easy to make, and loved by kids and adults alike.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Festive. These reindeer brownies with pretzels add a playful, holiday-themed touch to any gathering, making them perfect for Christmas parties and family get-togethers.
Easy. With simple decorations, you can transform regular brownies into adorable reindeer brownies with minimal effort.
Kid-friendly. This reindeer desserts are as fun to make as they are to eat, making them a great activity for kids during the holiday season.
Ingredients
Butter. Adds richness and moisture to the reindeer brownies, helping with the fudgy brownie texture. Substitute with margarine, nuttelex or coconut oil if desired.
White sugar. Provides sweetness. Substitute for coconut sugar or brown sugar for a more caramelised texture.
Cacao powder. Enhances the chocolatey flavour in the rudolf brownies, adding a rich depth. You can substitute for cocoa powder, but I recommend unsweetened because there's already a lot of sugar in this recipe (of course, you can use sweetened if you're a super big sweet tooth!)
Dark chocolate. Adds an intense chocolate flavour and extra fudginess to the brownies; you can substitute with milk chocolate for a sweeter taste.
Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavour in the reindeer brownies.
Flour. Provides structure to the brownies. And no, the amount of flour I recommend is not a typo.
Eggs. Help bind the ingredients and contribute to the chewy texture of the reindeer brownies.
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity. See below for substitutions and variations.
How to make reindeer brownies
- Cream the butter and sugar.
In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and white sugar. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until it reaches a light and creamy texture, about 2 minutes. This step is essential to achieve a soft, fudgy texture in your reindeer brownies with pretzels.
- Melt the chocolate.
Place a small pot with a little hot water over low heat and set a heatproof glass bowl on top, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the chopped dark chocolate to the bowl and stir constantly until it’s fully melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- Combine wet ingredients
Once the chocolate has cooled a bit, add the room temperature eggs and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture, stirring until fully combined. Next, gradually fold in the butter and sugar mixture until everything is well incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients
Sift in the flour, cacao powder, and salt into the wet ingredients. Using a spatula or a mixer on low speed, gently fold everything together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can make your Christmas brownies more cakey rather than fudgy.
- Prepare the pan and bake
Grease and line a circular baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan.
- Cut and shape brownies
Once cooled, carefully lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut the round brownie into 8 equal triangles to prepare them for decorating.
- Decorate reindeer brownies
For reindeer brownies with pretzels, place a red M&M or raspberry at the tip of each triangle as a nose, add candy eyes above it, and press two pretzels into the top corners of each triangle to create antlers.
Top Tip
If you like super fudgy brownies, undercook them slightly. This will leave the centre slightly gooey, while still keeping their integrity (I've given the time which will make them like this)
Substitutions and variations
You can switch up your Rudolf brownies by decorating them as Christmas trees for
something a little bit different.
Prep ahead, storing and freezing
To store Christmas rudolf brownies, keep them in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 7 days. To freeze brownies, wrap a serve (or a couple of serves) individually in aluminium or baking paper, then add to a freezer safe bag or container for up to 6 months. Thaw them at room temperature or fridge, or you can warm brownies up for 10-15 seconds in the microwave.
I've got a post on freezing baked oats, which are a similar baked good. See here for the tips and tricks.
To prep ahead brownies, mix all the dry ingredients (flour, cacao powder, and salt) together and store in an airtight container. This way, when you're ready to bake, you can just add the wet ingredients, making the process quicker and easier for your reindeer brownies.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
Other Christmas Recipes
Do you want more Christmas Recipes?
I have put together a Christmas Recipes E-Book with over 35 recipes and guides on cooking specifically focused on Christmas to help you put your best entertaining food forward.
It's your one-stop-shop for mains, sides and desserts
You can download this my Christmas Recipe E-Book to have the recipes on hand at all times!!
Ready to put your best entertaining foot forward? Check out more here!
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do - Love & Pasta, Lauren x
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Recipe
Reindeer Brownies with Pretzels
Ingredients
Brownie Ingredients
- 145 g Butter room temperature (see Note 1)
- 150 g White Sugar
- 50 g Cacao Powder see Note 2
- 50 g Dark chocolate see Note 3
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 100 g Flour
- 2 Eggs room temperature
Reindeer Decorations
- 24 candy eyes
- 12 raspberries or red m&m or candy
- 24 pretzels
- 4 squares dark cooking chocolate melted
Instructions
- Add room temperature butter and sugar to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or bench mixer, combine until they’re a creamy texture (approx. 2 minutes)
- Heat small amount of hot water in a pot, add a glass bowl on top (make sure it doesn’t touch the water) and add chocolate. Stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- Add eggs and extract to the chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Then add in butter & sugar mixture. Once combined, slowly mix in flour, cacao and salt until just combined.
- Add mixture to a greased and lined circular pan and bake for 30 minutes at 175C. Remove and let cool.
- Remove from the circular pan and cut into 8 triangles.
- Decorate the brownies like a Reindeer by melting some cooking chocolate and placing dots on the large side for the pretzels, halfway down for the eyes, and at the pointy end for the red nose.
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