Ingredients
Scale
1 can of crescent roll dough
1 pack (14oz) Lil Smokies or cocktail wieners
1-2 cups pretzels
1/2 cup ketchup
48 candy eyes
Melted butter (optional, for brushing the tops before baking)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190℃.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Break the pretzels in half to form the “antlers” and set aside. (You’ll need 2 antlers per reindeer).
- Open the bag of Lil Smokies and drain them. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Open the can of crescent dough and lay it down flat on a cutting board, keeping it together in one big rectangle. If your dough is perforated, push the perforated seams together so they hold together.
- Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the rectangle in half to form 2 large squares of dough.
- Cut each square into 12 long thin strips of dough, to make 24 strips total.
- Take one Lil Smokie, and wrap it with one strip of dough, starting from one end and finishing at the other end. Repeat until all Smokies are wrapped, placing them about 3 inches apart on the lined sheet pan.
- Take your broken pretzel “antlers” and gently push two antlers into each wrapped Smokie towards the top. Gently push them completely through the dough and into the Smokie so they stay sturdy as they bake.
- Optional: brush the tops of each wrapped Smokie with a little bit of melted butter before placing in the oven to bake.
- Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until browned and dough is cooked.
- Remove from oven and place the sheet onto a cooling rack to cool.
- Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before placing the eyes and “noses,” otherwise they will be too hot to work with and the eyes and “noses” may melt or slide off.
- Once cooled enough to work with, dab a very small amount of ketchup towards the top of each reindeer, just below the bottoms of the antlers. Then place two candy eyes directly on top of each dab of ketchup. This will help make the candy eyes stick to the reindeer and stay in place. Repeat until all eyes are finished.
- For the noses, using a spoon, carefully place a dollop of ketchup at the bottom of each reindeer.
- Serve with mustard, more ketchup, and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend wiping off the eyes and ketchup and re-adding them after reheating again.
- Freezing: I do not recommend freezing leftovers due to the candy eyes and ketchup dollops. However, if you really need to freeze them then I recommend wiping off the eyes and ketchup and re-adding them whenever you reheat them. Freeze any leftovers in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: From refrigerator: Place in a preheated 175℃ oven for 5-10 minutes or in the air fryer at 175℃ for 5 minutes until warmed through. From frozen: Place in a preheated 175℃ oven for 10-15 minutes or in the air fryer at 175℃ for 10 minutes until warmed through.
- Make ahead: If you need to make them ahead, you can wrap the Lil Smokies in the dough and push in the pretzel “antlers” ahead of time and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also go as far as baking them ahead of time, but leave the candy eyes and ketchup “noses” to do right before reheating and serving them. Store baked and cooled un-finished reindeers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat when ready to serve, then add the eyes and noses.
- Variations and Substitutions: 1. Use hot dogs instead of Lil Smokies/cocktail wieners. You can cut the hot dogs into smaller portions to keep them small for appetizers or you can make full-size ones for more of an entree rather than an appetizer or snack. 2. Use puff pastry dough instead of crescent roll dough. 3. Instead of candy eyes you can cut small rounds of sliced cheese and use a little piece of black olive in the middle of the cheese circles.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cooling Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizers