Polar Bear Cookies

Adorable holiday polar bear cookies are perfect for cookie trays and holiday cookie exchanges! Easy to make with a simple peanut butter cookie dough and white chocolate mini Reese's peanut butter cups!

Course Dessert - Cookies

Cuisine Holiday

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Cooling Time 20

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 146kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup butter room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
36 mini white chocolate Reese’s cups unwrapped and frozen
72 mini marshmallows
Premade icing as adhesive for candy eyes and M&M’s
72 candy eye sprinkles
36 M&M’s mini

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F, and spray mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Place the unwrapped Reese’s cups into the freezer until it’s time to decorate.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add peanut butter and room temperature butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Mix in the granulated and brown sugars.
Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat well, scraping down the sides as needed.
Place a small amount of dough into your hand using a cookie scoop. Shape the dough into a ball (about 1 inch in diameter), and place it into a well of mini muffin pan. Repeat until the mini muffin pan is filled.
Bake in a 350-degree F oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be soft to the touch.
Remove from oven, and working quickly, place an unwrapped, frozen Reese’s cup into the center of each cookie.
Place the entire muffin pan in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes so that the Reese’s chocolates are completely set and no longer warm.
When the cookies are completely cooled, remove them from the mini muffin pan. Now, it’s time to decorate!
Use scissors to cut 36 mini marshmallows in half- these will be the polar bear’s ears. Dab a small amount of premade icing to the cut marshmallow, and attach each ear.
Stick the candy eyes to the Reese’s cup using the premade icing.
Use icing to stick a whole mini marshmallow just below the eyes. This will serve as the bear’s snout.
Finally, place the “nose” by attaching a mini-M&M with icing to the top of the “snout” marshmallow.
Allow the icing several minutes to set before serving.

Notes

Storage:

Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Freeze undecorated for up to 3 months.
Store unbaked cookie dough in an airtight, freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to three months.

Tips:

- Don't freeze after the cookies are decorated. The black in the candy eyes will run and look terrible!
- If your dough is getting too sticky to form into balls, your kitchen is likely a little too warm. Simply chill the dough in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- I like to use kitchen shears instead of a sharp knife when cutting the mini marshmallows since they're so tiny.
- Cover your countertop with parchment paper or fondant mats to make clean-up easy, especially if little hands are helping with the icing!

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