Easy Christmas Tree Cookies
User Reviews
5
Easy Christmas Tree Cookies
Description
Easy Christmas Tree Cookies combine basic shortbread ingredients—butter, sugar, and all-purpose flour—into a smooth dough that is rolled and cut into Christmas tree shapes. Chilling the dough before baking is emphasized to prevent spreading, ensuring the cookies hold their shape. Baking until lightly golden creates a tender texture that still maintains structure suitable for decorating.
The cookies are finished with a green icing made from powdered sugar, vanilla extract, water, and food coloring. This icing is piped onto the cooled cookies to imitate the appearance of decorated pine trees. For a display where cookies stand upright, trimming the base evenly is suggested to provide stability. The recipe notes underscore cooling the cookies fully prior to icing to avoid melting and spreading of the decoration.
This recipe produces a classic holiday cookie with straightforward ingredients and a look that can be personalized by the decorator. It’s suitable for home bakers seeking a festive treat that balances ease with seasonal charm.
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter or vegan butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
For the icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted (some reserved to make ‘snow’)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons water
- Food Coloring green, a few drops
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and beat until smooth.
- Gently stir in the flour until combined to a smooth paste.
- Lightly dust the work surface with flour, then tip the dough onto it and roll out to ½ inch / 1 cm thick. Cut into tree shapes with a cookie cutter.
- Place the tree shortbread shapes onto a cookie sheet and place it into the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the shortbread turns lightly golden. Allow to cool in the tray for 2 minutes, then transfer the shortbread cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate the trees with green icing to look like trees. If you want the trees to stand up 3D, you’ll need to trim the ends with a sharp knife to get an even surface.
- To make the green icing, mix the icing ingredients to create a fairly thick, pipable icing. If necessary to get the right consistency, add a little more water or powdered sugar. Add to a piping bag with a small nib and decorate the completely cooled cookies as desired.
- Try sifting on a little icing sugar for festive ‘snow’.
Notes
- Chill dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before baking to prevent cookies from spreading.
- If you don’t have a Christmas tree cookie cutter, cut dough into triangular shapes as a simple substitute.
- Keep dough about ½ inch thick to avoid burning and maintain a tender texture.
- Trim cookie bases flat if you want the trees to stand upright for display.
- Cool cookies completely before decorating to prevent icing from melting.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 141 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 141kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 16g | 5% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Cholesterol | 20mg | 7% |
| Sodium | 68mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 17mg | 0% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 4g | 8% |
| Vitamin A | 236IU | 5% |
| Calcium | 5mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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