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Desserts

Christmas Cookie Tree

Learn how to make a Christmas cookie tree with shortbread dough and icing, perfect to make with kids and to surprise your holiday guests.
Recipe Christmas Cookie Tree
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Preparation 20 minutes
  • Cooking 10 minutes
  • Servings for 6 people

Imagine bringing a true showpiece of sweetness to the table: the Christmas cookie tree will win everyone over with its wonderful display of Christmas tree-shaped cookies, carefully stacked and decorated with colorful icing that turns each layer into a small work of art. This dessert will not only fill your home with the unmistakable aroma of Christmas shortbread treats, it will also be the most fun way to get adults and kids involved in holiday baking, with floury hands and shared laughter.

Want to know how to make the perfect cookie tree for your holiday buffet? All it takes is a few simple ingredients and plenty of imagination to create these decorated Christmas party cookies. Once they are baked and cooled, you can let your creativity run free, coating each cookie with icing: this decoration is exactly what makes this iced cookie recipe a real showstopper, to serve as a quick and easy Christmas dessert or to give to the people you love. It will be impossible to resist these Christmas cookies to give as gifts, also perfect if you want to make layered cookies for Christmas to add to your tray of holiday buffet treats.

To personalize your creation, take inspiration from the most popular recipes of the season: try the Christmas Tree Cookies for a very colorful variation, or add some crunch with the Iced Christmas Tree Cookies. If you love decorating your home with edible treats, the Christmas Cookies to Hang on the Tree will bring some real magic. Don’t forget to also try the Reindeer Cookies and the Tyrolean Cookies for a truly spectacular holiday table.

Ingredients for 6 people

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Method

  1. To make the Christmas cookie tree, start by sifting the flour, baking soda, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
  2. While continuing to mix, add the butter and honey to the bowl. Finally, pour in the sifted mixture and stir everything together until the dough is smooth and even. Once done, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
  3. When the resting time is up, take the dough and roll it out on a floured work surface to a thickness of about 5 millimeters. Use the cookie cutter to cut out as many shapes as possible, then bake them at 180 °C (350 °F) for 5 minutes, or until the cookies are golden.
  4. In a bowl, beat the 4 egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff, gradually sifting in the powdered sugar and the vanillin, and keep beating until the mixture is smooth and thick.
  5. Starting with the largest shape, alternate a layer of cookie and a layer of icing, continuing until you have used all the shapes and formed a fir tree. Repeat until all the cookies are used up and let them rest for a few minutes so the icing can thicken. When the icing is firm, you can serve your Christmas cookie tree. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

If you like, you can also add unsweetened cocoa powder to make a chocolate Christmas cookie tree. For a green version, you can add green powdered food coloring to both the dough and the icing. If you just want to decorate your Christmas cookie tree, you can use colored royal icing.

Tips

If your icing turns out too runny, simply add more powdered sugar or put it in the refrigerator for about half an hour.

Storage

You can keep the Christmas cookie tree for a few days in a cookie jar or a tin.

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