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Peanut Butter Christmas Mice Recipe

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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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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Peanut Butter Christmas Mice Recipe

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

Yield: 30 Servings

30 10 40

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 minis
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 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 mini 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.

Editor's Note: Reduced-fat peanut butter is not recommended for this recipe.

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

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Reviews for Peanut Butter Christmas Mice

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice

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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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