Gingerbread Cookie Dough Reindeer Pops

For the dough:
In a medium-size bowl, add flour, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg. Stir together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add butter and brown sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, molasses, and water. Mix together. Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the dry ingredients to form the dough.

For the reindeer pops:
Roll the dough into balls that are about the size of a large gumball or jaw breaker (should make about 16). Carefully stick the lollipop sticks into the dough balls. Chill the lollipops for about 1 hour in the refrigerator. If the pops are put on a wax-paper-lined plate, stick-side up while in the fridge, you may need to slightly reshape the top of the dough balls after removing them from the fridge.

In a small microwavable bowl, add 3 cubes of candy coating. Warm in the microwave for 45 seconds; remove and stir the part of coating that is melted. Warm again in the microwave for 40 seconds and stir. If needed, warm again in the microwave for 30 seconds (or the amount of time needed to completely melt the coating) and stir.

Tilt the lollipop slightly over the melted coating and spoon the coating over the dough ball (don’t dip the lollipop in the coating because the stick may come out of the dough). Be sure to spoon the coating in the area by where the stick is inserted into the dough (to strengthen the hold between the dough and the stick). Set the coated lollipops on a high standing cooling rack stick-side down to set (about 15 minutes). So that the wet coating on the dough ball doesn’t rest on the rack, for the short time it takes the coating to set, slip a shallow dish under each lollipop stick so that the pop will stand up on its own without the dough ball touching the rack. Add more bars of candy coating to the melting bowl as needed. Repeat the warming process when additional bars are added to the bowl or when the coating starts to harden.

For the antlers, with a small spoon, dab a little bit of coating on to the dough ball where the antlers will go. Then dip the bottom end of the pretzel (the narrow end) in the melted coating and attach the antlers to the dough ball.

For the eyes, add a dab of melted coating to the back of each candy eyeball and attach them to the reindeer.

For the red nose, add a dab of melted coating to the back side of the red candy and attach it to the reindeer.

Decorate just the tip of the antlers by spooning on melted vanilla candy coating on the outside edges of the pretzels. Immediately sprinkle candy on top of the antlers (so it will stick). Let the coating set before serving (about 15 minutes). Store leftover pops in the refrigerator.

Adapted from SheKnows Homemade Holiday Lollipops; “Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffle Reindeer Lollipop”.