Description
This Cookie Christmas Tree recipe is a delightful holiday treat featuring spiced cookies decorated with royal icing to resemble a festive tree. Perfect for holiday gatherings, this recipe guides you through making soft, flavorful cookies layered and decorated to create a charming edible centerpiece.
Ingredients
Scale
For the cookies
- 110 g unsalted butter soft, at room temperature
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 250 g all-purpose flour + more to dust the surface for rolling
For the royal icing (option 1)
- 1 egg white or 30 g pasteurized egg white
- 200 g icing sugar
- Water as needed
For the royal icing (option 2)
- 150 g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- Water as needed
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Use a whisk to beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until creamy. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Add vanilla extract and spices, mixing again.
- Add dry ingredients: Stir in the flour and baking powder using a spatula until mostly combined, then knead slightly with your hands to form a dough. Cover and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Roll and cut cookies: Remove dough from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature if needed. Roll out dough on a floured surface until 2-3 mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes in sizes 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, and 4 cm (from point to point), cutting 3 cookies per size plus extra small ones for the tip and snacking.
- Prepare for baking: Use a thin metal spatula to transfer cookies to a non-stick baking tray or one lined with parchment paper or silpat.
- Bake the cookies: Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 12 minutes or until edges are slightly golden. Let them cool completely before decorating.
- Make royal icing option 1: Place egg whites in a bowl and sift in icing sugar. Beat until combined and adjust texture by adding small amounts of water or lemon juice if too thick or thin.
- Make royal icing option 2: Mix icing sugar with meringue powder, then add water gradually until a thick, pipeable paste forms. Adjust texture as needed by adding more sugar or water.
- Prepare icing for decorating: Cover icing surface with two layers of wet kitchen paper if not using immediately. When ready, reload piping bag fitted with a small nozzle and check consistency, thinning with food coloring if desired.
- Decorate cookies: Pipe a border line about 3 mm inside the cookie edge and let dry 5 minutes. Add decorative dots around the border allowing lines to dry to prevent blending. Use a toothpick to adjust and smooth designs.
- Assemble the tree: Allow decorated cookies to dry for 10 minutes, then stack them with small dollops of royal icing between layers to form a tree. Let the assembled tree dry for 30 minutes before moving.
- Add finishing touch: Dust the assembled tree lightly with icing sugar for a snowy effect.
Notes
- If dough is too hard after refrigeration, let it sit at room temperature a few minutes to prevent cracking during rolling.
- You can choose between two royal icing recipes; both yield good results but differ in ingredients.
- Use a small nozzle on piping bag for precise icing lines and details.
- Allow icing lines to dry between decorating steps to avoid blending.
- Extra small cookies can be used for tree tips or as tasty treats.
- Ensure cookies are completely cooled before icing to prevent melting.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container if not consumed immediately to keep them fresh.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie christmas tree
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
