Gingerbread men, you might want to scoot over and make some room, because there’s a brand new crew showing up on this year’s Christmas cookie plate, and they’re bringing a whole lot of charm and a little bit of delicious chaos. These seriously incredible molasses spice cookies are chewy, flavorful, packed with holiday spirit, and topped with a sweet vanilla and cocoa-flavored powdered sugar icing. With pretzel antlers perched just so, chunky brown M&M’s cheeks, adorable red M&M’s Minis noses, and googly candy eyes that dare you not to smile, these reindeer cookies are guaranteed to be the star of any holiday gathering. Santa, Rudolph, and the entire reindeer entourage are going to get a giggle out of these Reindeer Cocoa Iced Molasses Spice Cookies this Christmas.
In December of 2022, I made Reindeer Molasses Spice Cookies. And while those absolutely adorable spice-filled cookies turned out to be extremely simple to make and easy to decorate, it took way too many pathetic versions of poor little wonky reindeer test cookies before I finally ended up with cookies that didn’t make me want to run away screaming in horror at the sight of them. Simply put, some of my early attempts were so tragic, I’m pretty sure even Krampus would have run for the hills. That being said, fast forward to this year, when it came to picking one trusty cookie dough recipe to create five separate batches of cookies with, I remembered just how much I had absolutely loved the almost magical flavor of those same pain-in-the-tuckus decorated reindeer cookies. So, naturally, they became the inspiration for every single version of this year’s Soft & Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies, including this one, which, yes, once again put my decorating patience to the test.
My first attempt at these cookies used the chocolate icing from our Hot Cocoa & Marshmallow Molasses Spice Cookies and Cocoa Iced Molasses Spice Cookies with Pretzels recipes. And while flavor-wise it was a total win, with the chocolate mousse-like consistency of its cocoa and heavy cream whipped icing, it wasn’t the easiest icing to work with, and it didn’t quite give me the flat surface I needed for decorating. I also had big plans to use a store-bought tube of black writing icing for the reindeer eyes, but after wrestling with the icing tube for three cookies, I realized it was a lost cause and chucked that sucker straight into the trash. To make matters even worse, I was fresh out of edible candy eyeballs, having already used them all up in these M&M’s Minis Halloween Molasses Spice Cookies and these Cookie Monster Molasses Spice Cookies. Which sadly meant that yet another test batch of cookies was in my future.
Thankfully, round two was a whole lot smoother. I finally got my hands on some edible candy eyeballs, and rummaged through my handy-dandy baking jar to find some brown M&M’s and a handful of red M&M’s Minis to use for decoration. I swapped out the cocoa and heavy cream icing for a simple cocoa and cold water version, which proved much easier to work with and made the cookies safer to store at room temperature. So far, so good, y’all. But then came the pretzel antlers. I always have Snyder’s of Hanover Snaps Pretzels lying around because they are a personal favorite, but y’all, let me tell you, when it comes to making antlers with those lil’ suckers, good freaking luck. I think I went through about a quarter of the bag to decorate one lil’ batch of cookies. They just don’t ever seem to break where you want them to. So, if you want to save yourself some frustration, do yourself a favor and grab Snyder’s of Hanover Mini Pretzels instead. They’re so much easier to work with, and you won’t have to vacuum your entire kitchen floor afterward.
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/4 Cup Molasses
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Ground Cloves
- Pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Cookie Add-Ins & Add-Ons:
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- Brown Milk Chocolate M&M’s
- Red Milk Chocolate M&M’s Minis
- Edible Candy Eyeballs
- Pretzels
Directions:
Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses; mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just incorporated. Repeat until all of the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the dough. Do not overmix.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough out onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Immediately upon removing the cookies from the oven, slowly press a well into the center of each cookie with the bottom of a shot glass or the backside of a large, round measuring spoon.
- Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling completely.
Cookie Add-Ins & Add-Ons:
- Sift or whisk the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together in a small bowl to remove any lumps.
- Add the cold water and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Spoon a small dollop of the icing into the center of a cookie, then use the back of the spoon to spread the icing evenly in the well, in a circular motion.
- Immediately place two brown M&M’s side by side near the bottom of the cookie, a red M&M’s Minis above in the center, and then two edible candy eyeballs above and to the side, followed by two broken pretzel antlers.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining cookies.
- Allow the cookies to rest at room temperature for a few hours, giving the cocoa icing time to firm up.
Suggestions:
- When mixing the cookie dough, make sure to scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure that all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
- I used the bottom of a shot glass to form a well in the center of each cookie. You can also use the back of a large measuring spoon or any round-shaped object. I found that pressing slowly down worked best. If you go too fast, the edges of the cookies develop more cracks and crevices.
- The outer surface of the cocoa icing will firm up quickly. That’s why I suggest decorating one cookie at a time. If the icing in your bowl becomes too thick to spoon onto the cookies, you can always add a touch more cold water to thin it out. I also suggest having all of your decorations ready before you start decorating the cookies. Have your M&M’s sorted out, your edible candy eyeballs out of the package, and your pretzel antlers already broken and ready to place onto the iced cookies.
- You can use whatever type of pretzel you choose for this recipe. I used Snyder’s of Hanover Snaps Pretzels because they are a personal favorite. However, I will admit that they were a little difficult to work with when it came to achieving the perfect antler shape.
- This recipe will yield approximately 2 dozen cookies.
- Store the baked cookies in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.
Improvements:
- If you aren’t a fan of ground cloves or nutmeg, feel free to make these a ground ginger and/or a ground cinnamon cookie only. Simply omit the ground cloves and freshly grated nutmeg.
- For chunkier reindeer cheeks, replace the brown Milk Chocolate M&M’s with Milk Chocolate HERSHEY’S DROPS.
- Replace the red Milk Chocolate M&M’s Minis with red cinnamon hearts.
- Add semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips to the cookie dough for an extra dose of chocolaty goodness.
- CLICK HERE to check out all of our past cookie recipes. Don’t forget to check out our Christmas cookies section.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/4 Cup Molasses
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Ground Cloves
- Pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- Brown Milk Chocolate M&M's
- Red Milk Chocolate M&M's Minis
- Edible Candy Eyeballs
- Pretzels
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses; mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just incorporated. Repeat until all of the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the dough. Do not overmix.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough out onto a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Immediately upon removing the cookies from the oven, slowly press a well into the center of each cookie with the bottom of a shot glass or the backside of a large, round measuring spoon.
- Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling completely.
- Sift or whisk the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together in a small bowl to remove any lumps.
- Add the cold water and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Spoon a small dollop of the icing into the center of a cookie, then use the back of the spoon to spread the icing evenly in the well, in a circular motion.
- Immediately place two brown M&M's side by side near the bottom of the cookie, a red M&M's Minis above in the center, and then two edible candy eyeballs above and to the side, followed by two broken pretzel antlers.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining cookies.
- Allow the cookies to rest at room temperature for a few hours, giving the cocoa icing time to firm up.
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Try our original Soft & Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies recipe. If you could only bake one cookie this holiday season, this should be it. Seriously. Forget the fussy, decorated sugar cookies and the crumbly shortbread for a moment. These Soft & Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies are a stand-alone star, boasting a deeply comforting flavor profile of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and rich molasses. More importantly, this has the potential of being the most adaptable recipe in your cookie arsenal. Think of it as the little black dress of your recipe box. Perfect on its own, but ready to be accessorized with anything from white chocolate, dried fruit, or candied ginger to festive holiday-colored chocolate candies or a sweet powdered sugar icing drizzle. This perfect molasses spice cookie recipe is the ultimate blank canvas, ready to be transformed into whatever your lil’ holiday heart desires. CLICK HERE for the recipe.
Molasses Spice Cookies are undeniably soft, delightfully chewy, and absolutely bursting with rich, comforting flavor. They’re practically bursting at the seams with the cozy, comforting flavors of ground ginger and cinnamon, with just a hint of freshly grated nutmeg, and the tiniest pinch of ground cloves, all wrapped up in a big molasses hug. They’re the kind of treat that makes you want to sneak back into the kitchen for just one more. And then maybe another after that. Whether you’re in the mood for a cookie loaded with chocolate chips, crammed with crushed sandwich cookies, or slathered with chocolate icing and a sprinkle of salty pretzels, we’ve got you covered. Your new favorite cookie recipe is about to make itself right at home. CLICK HERE for the recipes.
Christmas is a time for family, friends, and delicious holiday cookies. From classic butter cookies to iced gingerbread cookies, this list of ultimate Christmas cookie recipes has something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for festive colors, unique seasonal ingredients, or just a cookie that’s super easy to make, these Christmas cookie recipes will help you find the perfect cookie for the season. CLICK HERE for the recipes.
This will be the 9th year Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck has participated in this particular Christmas Cookies Week event. Below you can find links to all of the recipes we have contributed throughout the years; however, you can also CLICK HERE to find an entire list of our past cookie recipes. Don’t be afraid to let a non-traditional cookie recipe play a role in your holiday baking this year because when it comes to Christmas cookies, variety is always a good thing. Happy baking, y’all.
2025
Soft & Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
Chocolate Chip Molasses Spice Cookies
Buttery Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Spice Cookies
OREO Cookies & Cream Molasses Spice Cookies
Reindeer Cocoa Iced Molasses Spice Cookies
2024
Red & White Sparkling Brown Sugar Cookies
Honey Roasted Peanut Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Coconut & Dried Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Frosted Jammy Bits Cookies
Cornmeal Dried Cranberry Brown Sugar Cookies
2023
Ginger’s Cherry Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies
Sparkling Sugar Irish Butter Slice & Bake Cookies
White Chocolate Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
Orange Mixed Berry Glazed Thumbprint Cookies
Cinnamon Powdered Sugar Panko Cookies
2022
Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Chocolate Fudge Brownie Oatmeal M&M Cookies
Lemon Iced Gingerbread Cookies
2021
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Grape Nuts
Cappuccino Swirl Butter Cookies
Dark Rum Cherry Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cocoa Powder Cookies
Old-Fashioned Jubilee Jumbles Cookies
2020
Cinnamon Chip Holiday Spice Cake Mix Cookies
Peppermint Cream Cheese Crushed Oreo Cookies
Cran-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies with Grape Nuts
Sadie’s Double Pecan Butter Cookies
2019
Cream Cheese Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Hazelnut Winter Wonderland Cookies
Coconut Grinchy Christmas Breakfast Cookies
Soft Cinnamon Apple Pecan Cookies
Chocolate-Dipped Christmas Butter Cookies
2018
Chocolate Espresso Brown Sugar Cookies
White Christmas Peppermint Holiday Cookies
Chocolate Chip Vanilla Cookies
No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Cereal Cookies
Whoville Christmas Wreath Sugar Cookies
2017
Crystallized Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mexican Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cookies
Make sure to check out all of the other great Christmas Cookies Week 2025 recipes below. A huge thanks to Jolene’s Recipe Journal for hosting this event.
- Raspberry Cream Cheese Crescent Cookies by Blogghetti
- Almond Cherry Snowballs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pizzicati- Italian Pinch Cookies by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Reindeer Cocoa Iced Molasses Spice Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Tutti Fruity Cookies by Magical Ingredients
- Lemon Ginger White Chocolate Chip Cookies by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Norwegian Krumkake by Art of Natural Living
- Bûche de Noël Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Peanut Butter Blossoms by Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
