Description
Create festive Stacked Christmas Tree Cookies featuring buttery sugar cookies layered with creamy green buttercream frosting and decorated with star sprinkles and pearl-shaped sprinkles. Perfect for holiday celebrations and gifting.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Drops green food coloring, as desired
Garnishing
- Yellow star sprinkles
- Silver and gold pearl-shaped sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line at least two baking sheets with Silpat liners or parchment paper, then set aside.
- Cream Butter: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, beat ¾ cup unsalted butter on high speed until creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl sides as needed.
- Add Sugar: Add ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy and well incorporated, about 3 minutes.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fully combined, scraping the sides of the bowl.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt. Beat on low speed until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Form Cookie Dough Balls: Shape the dough into balls of three sizes: 1 teaspoon, 2 teaspoons, and 3 teaspoons each. Aim to make approximately 20 balls of each size, totaling around 60 balls.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the large 3-teaspoon balls for about 10 minutes, medium 2-teaspoon balls for 8 minutes, and small 1-teaspoon balls for 6 minutes or until set around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
- Prepare Buttercream Frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat 1 cup unsalted butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add Sugar to Frosting: Gradually add 4 cups confectioners’ sugar in two parts, beating on medium speed and scraping down the bowl after each addition until thoroughly incorporated.
- Flavor and Color Frosting: Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon salt, then add green food coloring drops until your desired intensity of green is achieved, mixing each time.
- Pipe Frosting on Cookies: Fit a piping bag with a star tip (such as 1M), fill it with frosting, and pipe layers of frosting on large cookies followed by medium cookies. Pipe a swirl on the smallest cookies to resemble tree tops and add a yellow star sprinkle on top.
- Assemble Cookie Trees: Stack the cookies in order—large base, medium center, and small top—building festive cookie Christmas trees.
- Decorate Trees: Garnish your cookie trees with silver and gold pearl-shaped sprinkles or any preferred holiday sprinkles like red and green jimmies for a colorful finish.
Notes
- Baking times vary based on the exact dough ball size, oven calibration, and environmental factors—watch cookies carefully to avoid overbaking.
- Store decorated cookies airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 to 2 weeks or at room temperature for up to 4 days for best taste and texture.
- For freezing, freeze baked but undecorated cookies in airtight containers or zip-top bags. Frost after thawing to preserve frosting texture.
- Rotating your baking sheets midway through baking can help with even cooking and browning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie tree
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
