COOKIE TREE

This is actually the most Christmas sugar cookie arrangement ever! A breeze to put together and decorate unlike gingerbread houses! I whipped up a batch of green buttercream for my tree your day before, chilled it and allow it arrived at room temperature the very next day.

I finished from the tree having a sprinkling of powdered sugar along with a golden star! I really like breaking out the edible gold leaf, yes it’s expensive nevertheless, you end up deploying it in moderation also it makes this impact. To create my golden star I painted on the thin layer or sugar glaze as well as the gold stuck directly on! As you can plainly see within the video I cut double the needed stars to provide my tree some height. Pipe buttercream to add each layer utilizing a small closed star tip.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Servings: 10
Calories: 160kcal
AuthorJohn: Kanell

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 cups unsalted butter 339g, Room temp
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar 300g
• 3 eggs
• 6 cups all-purpose flour 720g
• 1 cup cornstarch 125g
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 7g
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 15mL

For the Buttercream:

• 1 tbsp vanilla 15mL
• 1 lb confectioner’s sugar 454g
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature 225g
• 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream 45mL, add as needed

For the Assembly:

• ½ cup confectioners sugar 60g
• 1 tbsp whole milk 15mL
• 4 inch sheet edible of gold leaf
• Paint brush medium

Instructions

For the Cookies:

1. Preheat to 375F.
2. Cream butter and sugar together.
3. Add eggs one at a time then the vanilla extract while mixing on low, scrape the bowl down.
4. On low, mix in flour, cornstarch and salt.
5. Separate dough into two parts. Wrap in plastic and chill for about an hour.
6. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper.
7. Roll to between ½ and 1/4 inch thickness.
8. With a cookie cutter, cut out star shapes.
9. Place stars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. Bake for about 12 minutes.
11. Allow cookies to cool on their baking sheet until room temperature.

For the Buttercream:

1. Cream the butter If you’re using a stand mixer you’ll want the paddle attachment for this part.
2. Sift in half the confectioner’s sugar and mix on low. Scrape the bowl down and sift in the remaining sugar then mix once more.
3. Add the vanilla and then the cream a tablespoon at a time. Beat until you have an even, fluffy consistency. Mix in food coloring until you have the desired color.
4. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a size 30 star tip.

For the Assembly:

1. Use the buttercream as glue between each layer.
2. Start by piping buttercream to the bottom of a medium sized star.
3. Place star in the middle of a cake stand and press.
4. Alternate sizes between small and large stars to create a layered look to ascends into a tree. Save a small star for the tree topper.
5. Once you’re finished stacking, pipe buttercream onto each branch.
6. Add ornament decorations. I used Christmas color chocolate balls to decorate with. Dust with powdered sugar for a snowy effect.

For the Star:

1. Mix milk and powdered sugar together to create a glaze.
2. Paint the glaze onto the cookie using a paintbrush.
3. Place a sheet of gold leaf over the the cookie.
4. Flatten with brush and smooth out.
5. Pipe buttercream to the top star.
6. Place gold star as the tree topper.

Notes

• The dough only needs to be chilled for about 20-30 minutes. Just until it’s firm enough to cut and handle without marring the edges.
• The different sized stars will bake for different times so bake the large ones on separate cookie sheets so they can come out later.
• If your butter isn’t room temp just cut the sticks into a few slices and microwave on 50% power in 5 second bursts. Flip the butter with every burst.
• Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
• Scrape your bowl down a few times. If you have a glob to two of butter that doesn’t get mixed with the flour it will loose shape and melt when baked.
• Use a high-quality vanilla if you can. Aside from the butter it’s the main flavor you’ll taste and worth the splurge!
• I used a good amount of green food coloring for the buttercream but you can get a nice soft green by using matcha powder to color and flavor the buttercream.
• You might need to let your buttercream set for a while after building the tree and before covering the tips of the stars in buttercream and decorations.
• If you can’s find the mini chocolate spheres I used for the ornaments try other smaller candies like M&Ms or even crushed candy canes.

Nutrition
Serving: 38g | Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 105mg | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Iron: 0.7mg