Make Christmas Tree Cookies

Using a cookie cutter shaped like a Christmas tree and some frosting made with green food coloring, you can bake and decorate these delectable Christmas tree cookies. These visually appealing cookies make both great holiday gifts and beautiful additions to any cookie platter.

Ingredients

Servings: 4 dozen

Cookies

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 stick plus 2 tbsp. butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Decoration

  • 2 cups butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted and divided
  • 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, cold
  • 2 large egg whites, cold
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Green food coloring
  • Nonpareils, sprinkles and round chocolate candies for decorating

Steps

Prepare the Cookie Dough

Room temperature butter and eggs create superior cookie dough. Refrigerating the dough after you mix it will help the dough to hold together when you roll it in a later step.

  1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. Set the dry ingredients aside.
  2. Place the butter into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Beat the butter using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a flat paddle attachment until the butter is creamy and smooth. Your mixer should be set at a medium speed.
  4. Add the sugar and continue beating the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is yellow and pale.
  5. Beat in the egg and egg yolk.
  6. Add the vanilla extract and beat the batter together for another 1 to 2 minutes.
  7. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add 1/2 cup of the dry ingredients, mixing until they are just incorporated.
  8. Keep adding the dry ingredients in 1/2-cup intervals until all of the dry ingredients are integrated into the dough.
  9. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or cutting board.
  10. Divide the dough in half.
  11. Shape each half into a disc and cover each disc in plastic wrap.
  12. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Cut Out the Christmas Tree Shapes

If you don’t have 2 dozen cookies when you are finished cutting out your shapes, then take your scrap dough, form it into a disc, and then roll it to 1/4" thickness. Cut out additional shapes as needed to fill your baking sheets.

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Cover your counter with a strip of wax paper.
  3. Unwrap one disc of chilled dough and place it on the wax paper.
  4. Cover the dough with an additional sheet of wax paper.
  5. Roll the dough to 1/4" thickness using a rolling pin. Lift the wax paper occasionally and turn the dough over so that it rolls out evenly. Replace the wax paper and continue to roll the dough.
  6. Place some flour in a shallow bowl. Dipping your Christmas tree cookie cutters in this flour will keep the dough from adhering to the cutters and tearing the shapes.
  7. Remove the top sheet of wax paper from the rolled-out dough.
  8. Starting in the top left corner of the dough, push a floured cookie cutter into the dough to produce a Christmas tree shape.
  9. Place the cut cookie onto one of the baking sheets. Make sure that the cookie is approximately 1-1/2" from the edges of the sheet. This will give the cookie room to spread a little as it bakes.
  10. Dip the cookie cutter in flour and cut out another Christmas tree shape out of the dough. Cut close to the first cutout, leaving only a thin strip of dough between the first and second cutouts.
  11. Place the second cookie on the baking sheet, approximately 1-1/2" from both the edge and the other cookie.
  12. Continue cutting out cookies until you have filled both baking sheets with cookies. You will want about 1 dozen cookies on each sheet.
  13. Cover the cookie sheets in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilling the cut cookies helps to prevent them from spreading when you bake them.

Bake the Cookies

When you have finished baking the 2 sheets of cookies, remember that you have an additional disc of dough in the refrigerator. To complete the recipe, you will need to roll out the second disc of dough, cut out the Christmas tree shapes and bake them. Use new sheets of parchment paper to line the baking sheets.

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) while your Christmas tree cookie cutouts are in the refrigerator.
  2. After the cookie cutouts have chilled, remove 1 cookie sheet from the refrigerator, taking off the plastic wrap.
  3. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes.
  4. Rotate the cookie sheet 90 degrees. Bake the cookies for an additional 4 to 6 minutes. The cookies should be firm without turning brown.
  5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 2 minutes.
  6. Remove the cookies from the parchment paper with a spatula and place them on wire racks to cool.
  7. Repeat the steps with the second baking sheet of cookies.

Prepare the Frosting

You will get the best results from your frosting if the egg whites and milk are cold when you mix them into the other frosting ingredients. Be careful to beat the egg whites on low when you incorporate them into the frosting. The stiff egg whites add shape and volume to the frosting.

  1. Place the softened butter and 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar into a mixing bowl and beat the ingredients at medium speed using either a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
  2. Slowly add the cold sweetened condensed milk and continue beating the mixture until it becomes light and fluffy.
  3. Place the egg whites in a separate mixing bowl and using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at high speed.
  4. Slowly add 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar as the egg whites are beating. Beat the egg whites and sugar for about 5 minutes.
  5. Scoop the egg white mixture into the mixing bowl that contains the butter mixture, using a flat spatula.
  6. With the mixer speed on low, beat in the egg whites until they are just combined.
  7. Add the vanilla extract and the remaining 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar and beat on low speed until just combined.
  8. Add a few drops of green food coloring and continue to mix the frosting on low speed. Add a few drops at a time until your frosting reaches the desired shade of green.
  9. Turn off your mixer and remove it from the frosting.
  10. Place plastic wrap over the frosting and put the mixing bowl in the refrigerator until you are ready to frost the cookies.

Decorate the Cookies

Make sure that the cookies have cooled completely before you add the frosting and decorations. Otherwise, the frosting will melt. Frost the cookies in batches and place them in a shallow storage container.

  1. Cover your countertop with a clean sheet of wax paper.
  2. Place a batch of cookies on the wax paper, leaving about 1” of space between the cookies.
  3. Take your frosting from the refrigerator and using a butter knife or a cheese spreader, frost each cookie with a thin layer of the green frosting.
  4. Lay out the round chocolate candies in diagonally curved rows to create a "garland."
  5. Top the frosting with sprinkles or nonpareils.

Tips

  • If you don’t want to make frosting, then sprinkle your cookies with red or green sparkling sugar before you bake them. You’ll still have a festive sugar cookie without the additional effort.
  • Bring your butter and eggs to room temperature in a hurry by placing them in a bowl and running warm water over them. The butter should, of course, still be in its wrapper.
  • To test whether your egg whites are stiff enough, turn off your mixer and lift the whisk attachment. If the egg whites form stiff peaks on the blades of your whisk, and the peaks do not soften or drip, then you know your egg whites are ready to use.
  • If you want to make the cookies early before frosting them, they will store well in a tin at room temperature for up to a week. You can also wrap them and freeze them for up to 2 months.
  • Wash your mixer attachments and mixing bowls while your discs of cookie dough are chilling. Then, you can reuse them for the frosting without dirtying any additional dishes.

Warnings

  • Store your frosted cookies in a single layer in a large, wide storage container. If you need to layer the cookies inside the container, then place wax paper between each layer so that you do not ruin the frosting.
  • Make sure a child does not do this alone. If you are a child do this with a trusted adult Wear oven mitts do not leave the oven unattended doing so may create a fire. And never touch a hot surface with bare hands

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Things You'll Need

  • Mixing bowl for dry ingredients
  • Mixing bowl for wet ingredients
  • Handheld mixer or stand mixer
  • Paddle attachment for stand mixer, if using
  • Plastic wrap
  • 2 baking sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • Wax paper
  • Rolling pin
  • Shallow dish for flour
  • Christmas tree cookie cutters
  • Spatula
  • Wire racks for cooling cookies
  • Butter knife or cheese spreader

Related Articles

  • Make Holiday Fruit Drop Cookies

Sources and Citations

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