Lead Santa's sleigh with these merry treats!

Reindeer are one of the most beloved symbols of the Christmas season: they encompass all the joy and magic that we've all felt this time of year. Invite Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen (and who could forget Rudolph!) into your kitchen with these enchanting gingerbread reindeer cookies. Turn up the tunes to really get into the holiday spirit!

To make the cookies

1. In a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth. Mix in brown sugar and molasses and combine until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.
2. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ground cloves, and ground ginger, then mix into wet ingredients one cup at a time until fully incorporated.
3. Split dough into two equal disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and let chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
4. When ready to roll out dough, preheat oven to 350F. Unwrap one disk at a time and roll out onto a flour-dusted cutting board. Roll out until about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cut out dough with gingerbread man cookie cutter (a great step to get the kids involved!) and set on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet with about an inch between each cookie to allow for spreading. Bake for 9-11 minutes.
6. Let cookies cool on sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool to room temperature before decorating.

To decorate

1. To make the reindeer heads, turn the gingerbread men upside down. Use the head and torso area for the reindeer's face, gingerbread arms for the reindeer's ears, and the gingerbread legs for the reindeer's antlers.
2. Use cookie icing to attach eyeballs onto reindeer faces. Use your creativity and imagination to put your own spin on the reindeers and have fun!