Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies

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It doesn’t get any cuter than these cookies. I’ve taken my classic gingerbread cookie recipe and turned it into these festive, colorful, and wonderfully delicious Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies. You’re in for a TREEat. (See what I did there? Ha!)

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies:

Honestly, I had no big plans of sharing this Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookie recipe with all of you. Last week I had already made and shared my mushroom cookies with you. I had so much fun making those cookies (it was oddly therapeutic) that I decided to make a tree version using my gingerbread cookie recipe. I was just going to make these cookies as a treat for family and friends, but since they turned out so cute, I couldn’t resist sharing them.

In fact, I didn’t even do my typical recipe photo shoot, so there are not a lot of pictures and there are no in-process photos of me making these. But, hopefully you get the general idea. You can check out my Mushroom Cookies HERE and my Gingerbread Cookies HERE if you want some helpful images.

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

Beyond that, these cookies are just the cutest and my goodness are they ever delicious. I’ve been having such a love affair with gingerbread lately. It’s quickly moving to the top of my list of favorite flavors.

If you’re looking for more of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes, I have an entire blog post dedicated to them. You can find that HERE. There are so many good recipes you’re going to want to try.

I also need to give a shout-out to Holly Fox (@hol_fox) on Instagram for the design of these cookies. Since I’m new to decorating cookies with royal icing, I googled inspiration and found one of her images and fell in love with it. She created trees like these in three different color palettes and they are STUNNING. She also sells a Christmas tree cookie cutter just like the one I used here. You can find them in her Etsy shop HERE. Thank you for the inspiration Holly!!

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

One thing I wanted to mention before I walk you through the recipe is that royal icing can be tricky. It requires a lot of time, patience, and some general knowledge of the right consistency.

If you’re a novice baker and want to tackle this recipe, be sure to set aside some time and a lot of patience to play and practice.

With that being said, once I figured out the right constancy, I found the process of piping the icing to be so much fun and I just love how it looks. It does take time, but for me it was time well spent.

Okay, now on to the recipe!

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

How to make Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate the dough overnight or for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the chilled dough in two. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough so it is about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the shapes about 1-inch apart on a cookie sheet. Place the baking sheet of cookies into the freezer for about five minutes.

Delicious and festive Gingerbread Cookies! #christmas #cookies #gingerbread

Remove the cookies from the freezer and bake 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies barely start to brown. Cool for 30-60 seconds on the cookie sheet. Then transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

While the cookies cool, prepare the royal icing.

Add the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder to the bowl of a stand mixer. (You can also use a hand mixer.) Whisk to combine.

With the mixer on low, add one tablespoon of warm water at a time. Once all six tablespoons have been added, add in the corn syrup.

Continue to mix on low-medium speed adding more warm water, one tablespoon at a time, to achieve the desired consistency. The ideal consistency is something that is a bit thicker than corn syrup.*

Divide the icing into four separate bowls. Add food coloring to each of the bowls (except for one) to achieve the desired color. I used teal and green.

Transfer the icing to a piping bag or piping bottle. You can find the piping bottles I used HERE.

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

For the dotted trees, pipe the colored icing onto the cookies first and then immediately add the white dots. Once that has hardened you can add the white tree trunk.

For the trees with the garland / lights, pipe the colored icing onto the cookies first. Let it harden, then add the garland and white tree trunk.

Allow the icing to completely harden. Then pack and store these cookies in an airtight container.

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

And that is it, my friends. Your Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies are complete and ready to add a little color and seasonal flavor to your Christmas cookie trays!

Looking for more festive cookie recipes? Try these:

I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did.

Happy Holiday Baking!

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

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Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookie Recipe:

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies #christmas #gingerbread #cookies #gingerbreadcookies #holiday #holidaybaking #recipe #royalicing

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies

It doesn't get any cuter than these cookies. I've taken my classic gingerbread cookie recipe and turned it into these festive, colorful, and wonderfully delicious Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Christmas cookies, cookies, gingerbread, royal icing
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chilling and Decorating: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4 dozen
Calories: 139kcal

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cookies:

Royal Icing:

  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6 tablespoons warm water to start, plus 4-6 more
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • teal and green gel food coloring

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
  • In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla. Mix to combine.
  • Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate the dough overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the chilled dough in two. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough so it is about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the shapes about 1-inch apart on a cookie sheet. Place the baking sheet of cookies into the freezer for about five minutes.
  • Remove the cookies from the freezer and bake 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies barely start to brown. Cool for 30-60 seconds on the cookie sheet. Then transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough.
  • While the cookies cool, prepare the royal icing. Add the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder to the bowl of a stand mixer. (You can also use a hand mixer.) Whisk to combine.
  • With the mixer on low, add one tablespoon of warm water at a time. Once all six tablespoons have been added, add in the corn syrup.
  • Continue to mix on low-medium speed adding more warm water, one tablespoon at a time, to achieve the desired consistency. The ideal consistency is something that is a bit thicker than corn syrup.*
  • Divide the icing into four separate bowls. Add food coloring to each of the bowls (except for one) to achieve the desired color. I used teal and green.
  • Transfer the icing to a piping bag or piping bottle. (I've linked the bottles I used in the notes section below.**)
  • For the dotted trees, pipe the colored icing onto the cookies first and then immediately add the white dots. Once that has hardened you can add the white tree trunk.
  • For the trees with the garland / lights. Pipe the colored icing onto the cookies first. Let it harden, then add the garland and white tree trunk.
  • Allow the icing to completely harden. Then pack and store these cookies in an airtight container.

Notes

*Making "proper" royal icing takes time and practice. You need to get a feel for it to know the consistency you need. It took me 30 minutes to figure it out and I still needed to adjust things. Have patience and take your time.
*You can find the icing bottles I used HERE.
*Yield size will vary on the size and thickness of your cookie. For this particular size cookie, I made a bit over 4 dozen cookies. 

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 94IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

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3 Comments

  1. Your cooking, baking & decorating skills are beyond amazing. These little tree cookies look to pretty to eat…nah…wish I had some to eat. Have a beautiful Christmas Michael and thank you for your posts during 2020 as they certainly brought some enjoyment to a tough time.