Christmas Tree Cookies

With crisp edges and room for lots of chocolate and sprinkles, these wonderful Christmas tree cookies are easy to make and perfect for cookie exchanges. Beautiful, delicious, and festive without requiring special decorating skills!

The recipe yields about 24 cookies (the number might vary depending on the cookie cutter size).

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Chilling time2 20

Total Time3

Course: cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Reindeer cookies

Servings: servings

Calories: 134kcal

Author: Katia

Equipment

Food processor
Christmas tree cookie cutter
Baking sheets
Parchment paper or silicon mat

Ingredients

Cookie dough

2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 cup + 2 tbsp (150 grams) powdered sugar (aka icing sugar)
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 large egg, cold and lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (or ½ lemon zest)

Decorations

5 oz (150 grams) dark chocolate chips
Christmas sprinkles, to decorate

Instructions

Prep the butter: measure and cut the butter into 1-inch/2 cm cubes for both cookie doughs. Place the diced butter in two separate containers and refrigerate until very cold, about 20 minutes.
Make the cookie dough: Add the flour, cold-fridge butter, and salt to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles "sand." It takes a few seconds. Add the sugar, spices, and zest, and repeat just until combined.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pulse just to bring the dough together. It takes a few seconds, make sure you don't overwork the ingredients.
Carefully remove the blades, transfer the cookie dough onto cling film, wrap and flatten the dough using your hands, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
After the chilling time, take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter to soften slightly. You don't want it at room temp, so try to roll it out after 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.
Rolling out: Lightly sprinkle work surface and dough with flour. Roll out the chilled dough (⅕ inch/ ½ cm thick), using the cookie cutter cut the Christmas tree cookies. Keep in mind you need to re-roll the dough, as needed, to get as many cut-outs as you can (they should be about 24 cookies).
Place them on the baking sheets and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ (conventional oven) and once it reaches the temperature, place one of the baking sheet in the middle rack and bake for about 13-15 minutes until golden pale. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and bake the second batch. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool at room temp.
Melt the chocolate on the stove: Fill a medium saucepan with 3cm/1 inch of water, place over medium heat, and bring to a very gentle simmer. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan so that it fits snuggly but doesn't touch the water. Add chocolate chips to the bowl, then leave to melt for a few minutes. Stir regularly, until smooth and glossy, turn the heart off, then transfer the bowl from the stove to a work surface. For the microwave: melt the chocolate in short steps (10-15 seconds each time) and stir with a spoon after each step. Repeat until it looks melted and smooth. Remember that chocolate seizes quickly and fast; don't overheat it.
Decorate: Drizzle the runny melted chocolate over the cookies using a spoon. Once the chocolate is melted, you’ll want to work quickly! Add your favorite Christmas sprinkles while the chocolate decoration is still soft. Place cookies in the refrigerator for a few minutes until chocolate hardens, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 6 days.

Notes

Measure the flour correctly: a kitchen scale is always the best option; however, if you use US cups, just make sure you use the spoon & level method. Don’t scoop the flour out of the bag with your measuring cup because you could end up with more flour than you need. Use a spoon to transfer the flour from the bag into the measuring cup instead, and use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup.

Storage tips: They keep well for up to 6 days and are stored in an airtight container or metal tin.

Nutrition facts: Please note that the nutrition values are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. The nutrition value is for 1 cookie.

Nutrition