Peanut Butter Christmas Mice Recipe

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice Recipe
Photo by: Taste of Home
Rating

96% would make again

With their red licorice tails, candy noses and peanut ears, these chewy "mice" were always a hit at classroom parties. My children are in their teens now, but they still ask me to make these cookies for the holidays. -Nancy Rowse Bella Vista, Arkansas

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  • 30 Servings
  • Prep: 30 min. Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling

Ingredients

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup peanut halves
  • 2 tablespoons green and red M&M's miniature baking bits
  • 4 teaspoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips
  • Cake decorator holly leaf and berry candies
  • 60 to 66 pieces red shoestring licorice (2 inches each)

Directions

  • In a large bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. (Dough will be soft). Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
  • Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Pinch each ball at one end to taper. Insert two peanut halves in center of each ball for ears. Add one M&M baking bit for nose and two chocolate chips for eyes. Arrange holly and berry candies in front of one ear.
  • Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Gently insert one licorice piece into each warm cookie for tail. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 5 dozen.

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice published in Taste of Home December/January 2004, p27

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Reviews for Peanut Butter Christmas Mice (7)

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice Recipe

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice

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Reviewed on Dec. 06, 2009 by beagle5

I've been making these mice cookies since the recipe was first published. They are always a HUGE hit!!!

Reviewed on Dec. 05, 2009 by Karen Miller

Cookies are light and tasty and so cute!

Reviewed on Dec. 04, 2009 by mieoliphant

We have been making these mice cookies for years (since they appeared in my Taste of Home Magazine). My kids love making them and eating them. The kids insist on taking photos of the group, of them in their hands, and of them half in their mouth with the tail hanging out. What can be more fun for a kid, than pretending!

They turn out just like the photo here.

We also do with out the holly and berry, but they still look cute.

Reviewed on Dec. 16, 2008 by yogi_77703

i made these and they didn't flatten out at all. they were just like the picture.  I remember however, that i warmed the dough in my hand so the dough would stick together and not fall apart, made a tight ball and then tapered the end. i didn't know that the dough rose , so the first batch my mice came out big, so i made them smaller and the second batch was perfect. i couldn't find the holly and berry decorations, so i omitted them. i served them on paper doillies, they were so cute. yogi

Reviewed on Dec. 15, 2008 by asouth

I also had a problem with them turning out much flatter than the photo. (Still looked like mice, but not like the picture) Even making the balls round and large, they still flattened out. I'm guessing the test kitchen uses a convection oven and that might have helped with the ones in the picture.

Some of the peanuts fall out when the cookies flatten.

I was able to freeze these with licorice and candies in.

I used green and red sprinkles rather than the cake decorator holly and berries. Still looked fine.

Reviewed on Dec. 13, 2008 by Grandmanonna

You may need to add just a bit more flour.

Reviewed on Dec. 12, 2008 by VickiMiley

I can not get my mice to retain thier shape, they flatten out. Help?

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