Description
This Cookie Christmas Tree recipe combines spicy, aromatic cookies with smooth royal icing to create a festive and edible holiday decoration. The ginger and cinnamon-infused cookies are baked to a delicate crisp and then decorated with classic royal icing for an elegant snowy effect. Perfect for holiday parties or as a charming gift.
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 to dust the surface for rolling
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
- Mix butter and sugar: Use a whisk to beat the butter, sugar and salt together until you have a creamy consistency.
- Add egg: Add the egg and mix it in until fully incorporated.
- Add vanilla and spices: Add the vanilla extract, ginger powder, cinnamon, and ground cloves and mix once again.
- Incorporate dry ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour and baking powder; mix using a spatula. When the spatula no longer helps, gently knead the dough with your hands until smooth.
- Chill the dough: Cover the dough and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Prepare for rolling: After chilling, allow the dough to come to room temperature briefly if too firm to roll to prevent cracking.
- Roll and cut cookies: Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 2-3 mm thickness. Use cookie cutters sized 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, and 4 cm to cut shapes, making three cookies per size and a few extra smaller ones for the top tip and snacking.
- Transfer to baking tray: Use a thin metal spatula to lift cookies and place on a non-stick baking tray or one lined with baking paper or silpat.
- Bake cookies: Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 12 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges.
- Cool completely: Let the cookies cool fully before decorating to prevent the icing from melting.
- Prepare royal icing option 1: Place egg whites in a bowl, sieve icing sugar over, beat until combined, then adjust consistency with water or lemon juice to a pipeable but non-spreading texture.
- Prepare royal icing option 2: Mix icing sugar with meringue powder, add water gradually to form a thick paste. Adjust texture as needed so it holds shape when piped but isn't too stiff or runny.
- Maintain icing moisture: Cover the surface of the royal icing with two layers of wet kitchen paper if not using immediately to prevent drying.
- Color and fill piping bag: Add food coloring if desired (note it will thin the icing) and fill a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle.
- Decorate cookies: Pipe slow, consistent lines approximately 3 mm above the cookie surface to create outlines and dots. Allow the outline to dry 5 minutes to prevent dot lines from merging. Use a toothpick to correct and smooth details. Avoid over-decorating to keep the focus on the cookie tips.
- Dry and assemble tree: Let decorated cookies dry 10 minutes before stacking them with small dollops of royal icing as glue between layers. Allow the fully assembled tree to dry for 30 minutes before handling.
- Add snowy effect: Dust the finished cookie tree lightly with icing sugar for a festive, snowy look.
Notes
- Use softened butter at room temperature for easier mixing and better cookie texture.
- Chilling the dough helps maintain cookie shapes during baking.
- If dough cracks while rolling, let it warm slightly and roll gently on a dusted surface.
- Ensure cookies are completely cool before applying royal icing to avoid melting.
- Adjust royal icing consistency carefully for piping precision.
- Wet kitchen paper layers prevent icing crusting when waiting to decorate.
- Use a small nozzle on the piping bag for detailed decoration control.
- Allow piped icing lines to dry before adding dots to keep decorations crisp.
- Stack cookies carefully and allow drying to maintain the tree's stability.
- For a longer-lasting tree, avoid excessive moisture or humidity exposure.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie Christmas tree
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 40 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
