Christmas Tree Cookies
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 1-1/2 hours Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
YIELD: 18-36 cookie trees, depending on fullness.
Delight family and friends with this holly jolly Christmas tree cookie recipe. Iced with creamy frosting and dusted with sparkly colored sugars, the 3-D cookie trees are as delicious as they are beautiful! —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Ingredients
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1 cup butter, softened
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1-1/4 cups sugar
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2 large eggs, room temperature
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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Green gel or paste food coloring
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FROSTING:
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4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
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1/2 cup warm water
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3 tablespoons meringue powder
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
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Green gel or paste food coloring
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Assorted decorating sprinkles and white edible glitter
Directions
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1.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
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2.
Divide dough in half. Tint half of the dough green; knead well to distribute color evenly. Leave remaining dough white. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
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3.
Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Use tree-shaped cookie cutters with identical shapes, measuring 2-1/2 in., 3 in., 4 in. and 4-1/2 in. Cut out an even number of cookies with each size cookie cutter.
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4.
Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Immediately cut half of each size tree cookies in half from top to bottom. If tree cookie cutters have trunks, trim trunks off trees, creating a flat base. Remove to wire racks to cool.
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5.
For frosting, in a large bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, water, meringue powder, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat on high speed for 8-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Divide frosting in half. Tint half of the frosting green; leave remaining frosting white. Cover frosting with damp paper towels between uses.
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6.
To glaze trees: In a small bowl, thin 1 cup green frosting with 2-3 Tbsp. water until frosting reaches pourable consistency. Place matching pairs of whole and halved cookies on a wire rack over waxed paper. Pour icing over cookies; spread with a metal spatula to completely cover top and sides of cookies. Let dry completely. Assemble and decorate as desired according to directions below.
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7.
To make a 4-sided tree: Using a pastry bag fitted with a #5 round pastry tip, pipe a line of green or white frosting to match the tree you are decorating. Pipe a line of frosting along the cut edge of 1 of the halved cookies; press frosted edge along center of a matching whole cookie. Let dry until firm. Stand up partially assembled tree. Attach 1 matching cookie half to the opposite side of the tree by piping frosting along the center of the whole cookie. Let dry completely. Decorate as desired.
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8.
To make an 8-sided tree: Assemble as described for 4-sided tree, using white or green cookies. Using matching colored frosting, attach 4 more cookie halves; halves should be a half-size smaller than whole center cookie. Let dry completely. Decorate as desired.
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9.
To make Christmas lights decoration: Using a pastry bag fitted with a #2 round pastry tip, pipe cords with green frosting. Attach sprinkles for lights. Let dry completely.
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10.
To make snow-tipped decoration: Using a pastry bag fitted with a #8 round pastry tip, pipe snow on tips of branches with white frosting. Sprinkle with edible glitter. Let dry completely.
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11.
To make garland decoration: Using pastry bag fitted with a #21 star pastry tip, pipe garlands around trees with white or green frosting. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Let dry completely.
Nutrition Facts
1 four-sided tree: 181 calories, 5g fat (3g saturated fat), 25mg cholesterol, 85mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate (21g sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein.
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