Looking for a delicious Christmas treat that will impress your friends and family? Look no further than this incredible Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies Recipe! These beautiful sugar cookies are perfect for any holiday party or gathering, and they’re so easy to make! Just follow the simple recipe and you’ll have delicious, festive sugar cookies in no time!
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There’s something special about making homemade sugar cookies we loved our Christmas tree decoration cookies, but we wanted to make Christmas trees!
Nothing screams Christmas more than Christmas trees – right? We think you’re going to love this Christmas sugar cookie recipe!
Why you’ll love these Christmas tree cookies
- They are SO cute and make the BEST Christmas gifts!
- Easy to make, and the kids can help too!
- Not only do they look great, but they taste great!
- All the ingredients are 100% vegetarian.
Ingredients you’ll need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
Watching the smiles appear on your friends and family’s faces when you hand them these cookies and then they say ‘wait – you MADE these?’ Priceless.
How to make Christmas tree sugar cookies with step-by-step instructions
To make the cookies
Making our Christmas tree sugar cookies is easy if you follow our simple instructions.
A full printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C.
Using a 9-inch cake pan or springform pan, line it with a parchment paper round, then butter the parchment paper.
Lightly dust with flour and shake any loose flour out.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda, then set aside.
Using either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until combined.
Next, mix in the egg, then mix in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mix and then add the green food gel (to the desired level of greenness). Scrape down the bowl.
Add the amount of food coloring you are happy with, but remember that you will be icing a darker green color on the cookie dough.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and transfer the cookie dough into your prepared cake pan.
Spread the dough evenly and ensure that it is flat, and then bake for 14 – 15 minutes.
When cooked, remove from the oven; if you find that during cooking, the sides are higher than the middle, gently press the sides down with the bottom of a glass while the cookie dough is hot.
It’s essential to do this while it is still warm and flexible.
Transfer the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.
When cool, run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cookie and invert it onto a cutting board, or if you used a springform pan, remove the ring.
Then, using a sharp knife, cut the cookie into eight triangles, and cut off the rounded edges to form a perfect triangle.
Gently press a pretzel stick into the bottom edge of each cookie to form the Christmas tree trunk.
To make the sugar frosting
Using a stand mixer or electric mixer, mix powdered sugar, milk, butter, vanilla extract, and green food coloring; you’ll want a darker shade of green than the cookies.
Transfer the sugar frosting to a piping bag with a thin piping tip or a freezer bag with the tip snipped off (but not too much, you don’t want it gushing out!).
Pipe a zig-zag pattern over the cooled cookies; you’ll need to be quick as you’ll be adding sprinkles that need to stick to the frosting.
Use your preference of sprinkles, large stars, hundreds and thousands, sugar pearls, gold balls, or whatever you prefer.
Enjoy your Christmas tree sugar cookies, and Merry Christmas!
Recipe notes and expert tips
- Frosting
We’ve used sugar frosting but if you prefer you could use royal icing, we prefer the softer texture. - Experiment
Play with flavors and colors, and make your Christmas sugar cookies your own! - Storage
Store in an airtight container for up to a week and freeze for up to three months.
How do I store leftover cookies?
Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
They will also freeze for up to three months, but we recommend removing the pretzel stick as they will become soggy when thawing.
More easy cookie recipes for you to try at home
Why not try these easy cookie recipes if you love our Christmas tree cookies?
- Christmas Shaped Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- St. Patrick’s Day Cookies
Christmas tree sugar cookies
Utensils
Ingredients
For the cookies
- Butter to grease the parchment paper
- 1⅓ cups All purpose flour plus extra for dusting the pan
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Baking soda
- 10 tbsp Unsalted butter
- ⅔ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1½ tsp Vanilla extract
- Green food gel use to your preference of green
For the frosting
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Milk
- 3 tbsp Butter
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- Green food gel a darker shade than your cookie
- Cookie sprinkles
- Pretzels sticks
Instructions
To make the cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Use a 9 inch cake pan or a springform pan and line it with parchment paper then butter the parchment paper. Lightly dust the pan with flour and shake any loose flour out.Butter
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda, then set aside.1⅓ cups All purpose flour, ¼ tsp Salt, ¼ tsp Baking soda
- Using either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until combined. Next, mix in the egg, then mix in vanilla extract. Add the flour mix and then add the green food gel (to the desired level of greenness). Scrape down the bowl.10 tbsp Unsalted butter, ⅔ cups Granulated sugar, 1 large Egg, 1½ tsp Vanilla extract, Green food gel
- Transfer the dough into your prepared pan and using a palate knife spread the dough so it rests evenly. Bake for 14 – 15 minutes.
- When cooked, remove from the oven, if you find the sides are a little higher than the centers, use the bottom of a glass to gently flatten them. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely in the pan.
- Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cookie that is still in the pan to loosen it, invert the cookie onto a cutting board if you used a cake pan, or remove the ring of the springform pan. Then, cut the cookie into 8 triangles and cut the rounded ends off.
To make the frosting
- Using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, mix powdered sugar, milk, butter, vanilla extract and green food gel, you'll want the green to be a shade darker than the cookie color. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a thin piping tip or a freezer bag with the tip snipped off.1 cup Powdered sugar, 2 tsp Milk, 3 tbsp Butter, ½ tsp Vanilla extract, Green food gel
- Pipe a zig zag pattern over the cooled cookies, you'll need to be quick when adding the sprinkles to the piped icing. Use large star sprinkles, hundreds and thousands, sugar pearls, gold balls, or whatever you prefer. Gently press a pretzel 'trunk' into the bottom of each cookie. Enjoy your cookie and Merry Christmas!Cookie sprinkles, Pretzels
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that nutrient values are estimates only. Variations can occur due to product availability and manner of food preparation. Nutrition may vary based on methods of origin, preparation, freshness of ingredients, and other factors.
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Elizabeth Swoish says
So good! Came out perfect. I was so happy with them!
Sherry says
My Girls Scout Troop made these Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies and they loved them!! We will be making this again and again!!
Jenn says
These are super fun and tasty! We made some Halloween style, but I’ll be making these adorable trees for Christmas with the kids! Love it!
Alex Bala says
These are fantastic, I am excited to make them over the holidays. I have tagged this recipe to make for later.
Donna says
These are adorable! My kids loved helping to put them together and have asked me to make a batch for their upcoming school xmas picnic!