christmas tree cookies

These Gingerbread cookies are made with a fraction of the butter – yet they still have the same great flavor and texture. This year I wanted to make them into Christmas trees. No cookie cutter required, all I used was a knife to cut them into triangles!

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies

unsalted butter (softened)

brown sugar

applesauce

dark molasses

all-purpose flour

tsp baking soda

ginger

cinnamon

tsp allspice

cloves

tbsp egg whites (room temperature)

lemon juice

sugar

green food coloring

colored sprinkles

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and applesauce until smooth. Add the egg and molasses, mix well.

In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices. Add to sugar and molasses mixture, stirring well with the mixer. Use your hands to form a large ball, the dough will be a little sticky.

Wash and dry your hands. Place flour on your hands so the dough doesn't stick to you, then divide the dough into two flat balls; cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

After the dough has chilled 2 hours, preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously dust the surface of your working area with flour before rolling out the dough. Work with one ball of dough at a time, keep the other refrigerated while you do so.

 Depending on how thin you roll the dough out and the size of your trees, makes at least 60 tree cookies.

Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough if it's a little sticky. Trim the uneven edges off to square the dough, then using a knife cut the dough into 3 1/2 inch

strips. Then cut the strips into triangles.

Place the cookies 1 or 2 inches apart on a silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

For the cookies:

Mix the egg whites with lemon juice. Combine with powdered sugar, mixing well then add a few drops of green food coloring until you get the color you desire.

If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, if it's too thick add a drop of lemon juice or water. Transfer to a piping bag to decorate cookies when cookies are cooled.

To decorate, pipe the cookies with the frosting one at a time, quickly adding the sprinkles before it hardens.

For the icing:

The cutest Christmas Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs. The simple Christmas tree cookie design is great for baking with kids. No chill time required!

Christmas Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

flour,

baking powder

salt

unsalted butter, softened

Rodelle vanilla extract

tube green frosting

red and green nonpareils sprinkles

star sprinkles

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour,...

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat together with an...

In a medium bowl, beat together with an electric mixer the butter and sugar. Once light and fluffy, add the egg yolk and vanilla extract.

Once well incorporated, sprinkle over half the flour...

Once well incorporated, sprinkle over half the flour mixture and beat gently until combined, then sprinkle over the rest. Beat until no streaks of flour remain, but be careful not to over-mix.

Dust a clean counter top with flour, and...

Dust a clean counter top with flour, and dump half of the dough out onto it. Gather it into a ball and press it into a 1/2" thick round disk. Flour your rolling pin, then roll out the dough out big enough to cut out about 8-9 shapes. Place the shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Gather the dough scraps and re-roll to cut out 8-9 more shapes and place them on the cookie sheet. You should get roughly 16 cookies.

Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for...

Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for the minutes while you preheat the oven to 350.

Once the oven is hot, bake the cookies...

Once the oven is hot, bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies just start to turn brown. Let them sit on the sheet a few minutes before moving them a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cooled completely, make the...

Once the cookies are cooled completely, make the royal icing: in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Beat the egg white in a small bowl...

Beat the egg white in a small bowl to loosen them, and then measure out 2 tablespoons of egg whites and add them to the bowl with the sugar.

Whisk together the icing, starting slowly, and trust...

Whisk together the icing, starting slowly, and trust that the sugar will melt and it will become liquid. Resist the urge to add any more liquid to the bowl, and instead just keep whisk slowly.

When the icing comes together, spoon a small...

When the icing comes together, spoon a small amount onto each cookie, and use an off-set spatula to spread it almost to the edges.

Let the royal icing harden completely on the...

Let the royal icing harden completely on the cookies before proceeding.

Using the green frosting tube, make a zig-zag...

Using the green frosting tube, make a zig-zag Christmas tree shape in the center of a cookie. Immediately add the nonpareil sprinkles and press a star candy on top. Because the royal icing is already dry, the sprinkles will only stick to the Christmas tree shape. Repeat with all remaining cookies.

These Christmas Tree Cookies are a fun and festive meringue cookie that are light as air and melt in your mouth! A super cute Christmas cookie perfect for your holiday party!

Christmas Tree Cookies

Cup sugar

cream of tartar

almond extract

green gel food coloring

multi color sprinkles

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a bowl of your stand mixer. Place bowl over boiling water on the stove. Whisk vigorously until sugar dissolved and there are no more sugar granules visible. Remove from heat and whisk in extract.

Using the whisk attachment on stand mixer, mix on medium high until egg whites become bright white but still runny. Add in food coloring to the color you want and continue to beat to form stiff peaks.

Place mixture into piping bag with large star tip. Pipe cookies onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Make cookies about 1 inch in width, 2 inches high and place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Sprinkle with the multi color sprinkles.

Cook for 2 hours. After 2 hours, turn off oven, open door slightly and let sit in oven an additional 2 hours.

Place the star sprinkles on top with a tiny dab of frosting. Serve and enjoy!

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Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies

Christmas Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Christmas Tree Cookies

Top 3 christmas tree cookies recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas tree cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies

Christmas Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Christmas Tree Cookies

The most viewed christmas tree cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine