Description
Create a festive Cookie Christmas Tree with spiced buttery cookies and delicate royal icing decoration. This charming holiday treat combines soft, mildly spiced cookies baked to golden perfection and intricately decorated with royal icing to form a beautiful edible tree centerpiece perfect for celebrating the season.
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 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 250 g all-purpose flour + more for dusting surface
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
- Make the Cookie Dough: Use a whisk to beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until creamy. Add the egg and mix it in thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla and spices before adding the flour and baking powder. Mix with a spatula then knead lightly by hand once the dough is too stiff.
- Chill the Dough: Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Prepare for Rolling: If the dough has chilled longer than 30 minutes, let it sit at room temperature briefly to make rolling easier and prevent cracking.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 2-3 mm thickness. Use cookie cutters of various sizes (13, 11, 9, 7, 5, and 4 cm) to cut out the tree shapes and a few extra smaller cookies for decoration or eating.
- Transfer and Bake: Use a thin metal spatula to carefully transfer cookies to a non-stick baking tray or a tray lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F for 12 minutes or until edges are slightly golden.
- Cool Cookies: Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating to avoid melting the royal icing.
- Prepare Royal Icing (Option 1): Place egg whites in a bowl and sift in icing sugar. Beat until smooth and adjust consistency by adding water or lemon drop by drop until it holds its shape but is still easy to pipe.
- Prepare Royal Icing (Option 2): Mix icing sugar and meringue powder. Add water gradually until a thick paste forms that is easy to work with but not runny.
- Store Icing Properly: Cover the surface of prepared royal icing with 2 layers of wet kitchen paper to prevent drying if not using immediately.
- Decorate Cookies: Fill a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle with royal icing. Pipe a line around each cookie's edge leaving about 3 mm border. After the line dries for 5 minutes, add decorative dots or patterns. Use a toothpick to smooth or adjust icing as needed.
- Assemble the Tree: Let decorated cookies dry for 10 minutes, then assemble by sticking one cookie to another with small dollops of royal icing. Let the finished tree dry for at least 30 minutes before handling.
- Add Finishing Touches: For a snowy look, dust the assembled cookie tree lightly with icing sugar.
Notes
- Roll dough to an even thickness (2-3 mm) for uniform baking.
- Use room temperature dough for easier handling and fewer cracks.
- If royal icing is too runny, add more icing sugar; if too thick, add water sparingly.
- Allow piping lines to dry before adding dots to prevent bleeding.
- Use a thin metal spatula to transfer delicate cookies without breakage.
- Store decorated cookies in a cool, dry place to maintain crispness.
- You can substitute spices to taste, but stick to a similar warm spice blend for authentic flavor.
- Extra small cookies are perfect for snacking while assembling the tree.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie christmas tree
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 40 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
