Recipe courtesy of
Winnie Lee
for
Food Network Kitchen
Recipe courtesy of
Winnie Lee
for
Food Network Kitchen
Watch how to make this recipe.
Christmas Tree Cookies
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- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 30 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 45 min
- Yield: about 18 cookies
Move over, cookie cutters! These cheerful and eye-catching cookies are made by piping buttery dough into the shape of festive Christmas trees. A rich cocoa dough forms the tree trunks, while soft ruffles of buttery green dough become charming boughs. Decorated with white candy garlands and bright sprinkles and nonpareils, they’re sure to be a standout on a cookie plate and are perfect for swapping and gifting.
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 30 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 45 min
- Yield: about 18 cookies
Ingredients
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Directions
Special equipment:
a piping bag fitted with a small open star tip (such as a #18); a piping bag fitted with a medium petal tip (such as a #102, 103 or 104); a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (such as a #802)- Cream the butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt together in a large mixing bowl with a rubber spatula until light and creamy. Add the egg white and vanilla paste and mix until well combined. Gradually add the cake flour to the wet ingredients, folding and mixing until the dough comes together. The dough should be soft and pliable.
- Transfer 1/4 cup (150 grams) of the dough to a small bowl for the tree trunks. Sift the cocoa powder over the dough in the small bowl and mix to combine. Add green food color to the larger portion of dough and mix until you achieve your desired shade of green.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a small open star tip (such as a #18) with the cocoa dough. Fit another piping bag with a medium petal tip (such as a #102, 103 or 104) and fill it with the green dough. Pipe a tree trunk onto the prepared baking sheet with the cocoa dough, making it about 1 inch long. Use the green dough to pipe a row of frills overlapping the trunk for the bottom of the tree. Continue piping rows of overlapping frills working upwards and making each slightly shorter to make a tapering tree shape. You should get 7 to 8 rows for a tree about 3 inches high ending in a point. Repeat with the remaining cocoa dough and green dough.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes; keep a close eye on them as baking times may vary depending on the thickness of the cookies. Cool the cookies for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To decorate the trees, put the candy wafers in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until smooth and melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the melted candy to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (such as a #802). Pipe a garland with the melted candy over the tree. Place the sprinkles and nonpareils on a plate and invert the cookie onto the plate so candies adhere to the garland. Use a dot of icing to place a star on top of the tree. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
