Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

It's the time of year for Christmas cookies and these Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies have a fun yet simple design that's easy to make but looks great.

These Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies have a soft and buttery sugar cookie dough and a sweet, smooth vanilla buttercream. Your favorite rainbow sprinkles are added on top to decorate the tree just like tinsel!

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that your butter is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Egg: You want to make sure that your egg is at room temperature to ensure that it is properly incorporated into your batter. If you forget to leave it out before you start baking, place it in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until it becomes room temperature.
• Measuring Your Ingredients: I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature: Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.

Preheat oven to 350º F. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, sift in the flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.Place a piece of parchment or a dough mat down and lightly flour it. Place the chilled dough on top, sprinkle some flour over it and roll it out until it is about ¼" thick. Sprinkle a little more flour where needed as you roll it out, making sure it isn't sticking to the parchment or mat that's under it.

Once the dough is rolled out, slide a cookie sheet under the mat or parchment and place it in the freezer for a few minutes or the fridge for 10 minutes. This will help firm up the dough again before you cut out any shapes.

Use a tree cookie cutter to cut out trees and gently transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Reroll the dough as needed to cut out more. Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on the cookie size. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Cream the butter until smooth. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the confectioners sugar by the spoonful followed by the vanilla and cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix just until combined.

Place each cookie on a piece of parchment as you frost it. Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag with a Wilton #8 or similar piping tip. Starting at the top left side of the tree, pipe a diagonal line and continue that line down, alternating from one side to the other.

Sprinkle rainbow sanding sugar over the frosting until the frosting is fully covered. Carefully shake the excess sugar off of the cookie and onto the parchment. Use the parchment to transfer the leftover sugar to a small bowl and use again. Repeat this process with the remaining cookies. Enjoy!

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