Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

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Soft and sweet Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies are frosted with homemade buttercream frosting and decorated with sprinkles.

Sugar cookies are one of those desserts that I don’t love making but I absolutely adore the end result.  I’ve made them for every occasion and while they look amazing I hate how long they take me to make.

One of my favorites and my best selling design are my Alice in Wonderland Sugar Cookies.   Then there are the ever popular Jack Skellington cookies around Halloween.  For a gluten free option you can’t beat my Gluten Free Sugar Cookies decorated like Lego.

I used my standard sugar cookie recipe as a base because it’s simply the best..   I’ve tried five or six different sugar cookie recipes but this one is my favorite.   It’s sweet, soft, and holds it’s shape perfectly.

Can I make a chocolate sugar cookie?

Of course!  Remove 1/4 cup of the flour and replace it with 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder.   This will give you a nice cocoa flavor and the cookies will still bake up and hold their shape.

The hardest part of making sugar cookies is decorating them with royal icing so I decided to try my hand at using buttercream frosting.  I use buttercream with my cakes and cupcakes all the time but never with my decorated sugar cookies.

Ingredients:

• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• butter (I use salted but you can use unsalted)
• granulated sugar
• egg (or you can use two egg whites but I find the single egg works best)
• vanilla extract (or almond extract if you prefer)
• powdered sugar
• milk (whole milk works best but you can substitute plant based milk)
• green food coloring (I like using AmeriColor Gel)
• holiday sprinkles

To make the dough cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Then mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into a ball and place on a sheet of plastic wrap.   Flatten the dough and wrap with the plastic wrap.  Refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

do I have to chill the dough?

The dough needs to be chilled or it will not hold its shape when it is baked.  Chill the dough for at least an hour or overnight.  I tend to make the dough the day before I need it so that it can chill during the night and is ready whenever I want to bake it.  You can even leave it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days before baking.

After the dough chills sprinkle flour on a smooth surface.  Knead the dough with your hands to warm it up a bit and make it easier to roll.  Roll out half of the cookie dough. 

I try to keep it to 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thickness.  You don’t want it any thicker or thinner than that.

Use a tree shaped cookie cutter and cut out multiple trees.   Place them on a large baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Place them in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are just set. You don’t want these cookies to brown or they won’t be soft when you eat them.

Can I freeze these cookies?

Yes!   After baking and before decorating them with icing you can absolutely freeze them.  Wrap them in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag.   You can also layer them in an air tight container with layers of parchment paper in between the layers.  These cookies can be frozen for up to 4 months.

To make the buttercream frosting place the butter in a large bowl and mix with a mixer for 1-2 minutes or until it has softened.  Add in the powdered sugar a half cup at a time mixing after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and milk.   Add additional milk or powdered sugar if needed.

Add green food coloring to the frosting and mix well.  Place the frosting in a piping bag or a zip top baggie and snip off the end.  Carefully pipe bag and forth over top of the tree to cover it in green frosting.   Add sprinkles and other decorations.  Allow to sit for 24 hours so that the buttercream forms a crust.

More Holiday Cookie Recipes from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box:

These cookies are delicious though on the sweeter side.   The cookies are soft and buttery while the frosting is sweet.  

I gave these to teachers and kids at my school for the holidays. Everyone seemed to enjoy them but the kids really loved them.  These would be good cookies for kids to help decorate too!  They can pipe on the frosting or just spread it on and then decorate with all the sprinkles.

If you’ve tried my Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

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Christmas Tree Cookies

Buttery sugar cookies shaped like Christmas trees and decorated with buttercream frosting.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 30 cookies

Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks butter softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting:

• 1 stick butter 1/2 cup
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• green food coloring
• sprinkles

Instructions

• In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add in the sugar and continue mixing on medium until fluffy.
• Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed well.
• Place the mixer on low and add in the flour mixture, mixing until just blended.
• Knead the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc shape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• On a lightly floured surface roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 30 Christmas trees. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until they no longer look wet on top.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely.
• To make the buttercream frosting place the butter in a mixing bowl and use a mixer on medium high speed to beat the butter.
• Add in the powdered sugar a half cup at a time, beating after each addition.
• Add the milk and vanilla and beat on high for 1 minute.
• Add the green food coloring and mix well.
• Place the green frosting in a piping bag without a tip. Snip off the end and move your hand back and forth to pipe the frosting onto the tree.
• Immediately top with sprinkles if desired.
• Let the cookies sit for at least 1 hour so that a crust begins to form on the buttercream frosting and you can move the cookies without damaging them.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe