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    TaraTeaspoon » Holidays + Celebrations » Easy Christmas Recipes » Christmas Cookies

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    Published: by

    Christmas Tree Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Jump to Comments

    These Christmas tree cookies have a spiced sugar cookie base and are topped with a fluffy ginger cream cheese frosting. They're easy to decorate but look phenomenal on a cookie tray!

    As seen on my appearance in The Food Network Christmas Cookie Challenge!

    Frosted Christmas tree cookies
    Jump to:
    • Creating This Recipe for Christmas Tree Cookies
    • Special Ingredients in This Recipe
    • How to Make Christmas Tree Cookies
    • Other Frosting Options
    • Christmas Tree Cookie Decorating Ideas
    • Tips for Making Christmas Tree Cookies
    • More Easy Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas:
    • Almond Ginger Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Creating This Recipe for Christmas Tree Cookies

    There is nothing better than warming up with these flavorful cookies. Except, serving them to Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman!) on The Food Network!

    That's right, I served a variation of this recipe for Christmas tree cookies to The Pioneer Woman herself when I competed on a TV show challenge for The Food Network!

    I was asked to join the competition a few years ago (reruns still run every year!!). There were three rounds of interviews and I even had to cook for the producers before I was brought onto the show as a contestant.

    I was one of five contestants and we didn't know what our challenges would be, nor did we know who the judges would be until we walked onto the set. Turns out one of the judges was my friend Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman! (Read more here).

    Deciding Which Cookie to Make for the Show

    I love decorating sugar cookies for Christmas. I typically make thick, fluffy sugar cookies, using sour cream to get the loftiness. They are delicious sugar cookies for cutouts.

    I know my sour cream sugar cookies taste amazing, but most people on competition shows make crispy cookies. However, I knew I wanted to bring these Lofthouse-style cookies to the show. But I needed to make them REALLY TASTY.

    I knew this would be a delicious cookie for the judges to eat in this competition, and I wanted to spruce it up a bit. Turns out The Pioneer Woman LOVED the taste of these cookies.

    Tip: I used piping tips to pipe different colors of frosting onto Christmas tree cookies. Using start tips is easy and you can experiment. See more info on the specifics in the post below!

    Frosted Christmas tree cookies on a  gray background

    Special Ingredients in This Recipe

    The Food Network competition called for using an ingredient often found in fruitcakes. There was a long list including dried fruits and nuts. I quickly chose sliced almonds.

    I knew they would be tasty in cookies, and I hoped they would break up enough to cut with a cookie cutter when mixed into the dough. They did!

    I added the sliced almonds to the cookies and both fresh and ground ginger to the frosting and cookie dough. It really helped the ginger flavor shine, and the crunch from the almonds takes this cookie to the next level.

    Besides the special ingredients I just shared, this is a fairly classic sour cream sugar cookie recipe. For decorating, I made my go-to cream cheese frosting for sugar cookies.

    overhead view of Frosted Christmas tree sugar cookies on a  gray background

    How to Make Christmas Tree Cookies

    Making the Christmas tree sugar cookies and Christmas cookie frosting is incredibly easy, and it's a fun recipe to make with family and friends!

    1. Whisk together the flour, salt, ground ginger and baking powder; set aside.
    2. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in grated ginger.
    3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream. 
    4. To the wet ingredients, slowly add the flour mixture, followed by toasted almonds.
    5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
    6. Roll the dough to ⅜ of an inch thickness. Using 3-to-4-inch tree cookie cutters, cut shapes.
    7. Bake cookies until done, then decorate as desired.

    Other Frosting Options

    I usually pair Fluffy Vanilla Frosting with my thick and fluffy sugar cookies.

    However, I was adding almonds and ginger to these Christmas tree sugar cookies, so I wanted an indulgent frosting — spiced cream cheese frosting, here I come!

    In addition to using this cream cheese frosting for the sugar cookies, you could also try one of my other frosting options:

    • Classic Royal Icing
    • Lemon Royal Icing
    • Brown Butter Frosting
    • Caramel Icing

    All of these homemade frosting recipes give cookies different personalities and flavor profiles. Depending on how you want to decorate your Christmas sugar cookies, you can choose different icings and frostings.

    overhead view of Frosted Christmas tree sugar cookies on a blue platter

    Christmas Tree Cookie Decorating Ideas

    The best frosted sugar cookie recipe in the world needs gorgeous decorating! I colored my cream cheese frosting different shades of green.

    It was really fun to tap into my inner artist and mix different shades of frosting. I made the same palette here as I did in the competition.

    A play on blue spruce colors. Greens with hints of blue make these trees look festive, wintery, and still gorgeous and appetizing. Just use gel paste food coloring to tint the frosting.

    piping tips for almond ginger cookies

    Piping Techniques for Decorating Sugar Cookies

    I played around with different piping tips for these almond ginger cookies. Thanks to my friends Colette and Ayelet for decorating with me! It was so fun to get creative.

    • We used tips like star numbers #16, #19, #20, and #35.
    • Other fun tips were the ribbon tip #47, also known as the basket weave tip.
    • You can also try leaf and petal tips like numbers #69, #79, #102 , #103, #199 and #352.

    We had such a great variety of Christmas trees — you know that no two trees are ever alike! Two of my favorite tips to use were #35 closed star tip and #352 leaf tip, both gave a really artistic look to the cookies.

    Any tip you want to use will work perfectly for these Christmas tree cookies. Don't worry too much about your piping skills, you can always cover up mistakes by hiding them under sprinkles!

    blue dragees for christmas cookie decorating

    Using Sprinkles to Decorate Sugar Cookies

    Speaking of sprinkles, I used all kinds, plus sugars and dragees. Don't you love those metallic dragees they have in blues and greens?

    I used sanding sugar and non-parielles, little candy balls, and chocolate candies with colored coating. No one ever hates a little glitz and glam on their cookies!

    decorated Christmas tree cookies topped with cream cheese frosting.

    Tips for Making Christmas Tree Cookies

    • Don't forget to tap into your inner child when decorating these almond ginger cookies. Have fun by using multicolored frosting and a variety of sprinkles and dragees!
    • Those crunchy almonds add great texture to these cookies, and get softer as the cookies sit for a day or two. They don't mess up the cookie cutter shapes either. Feel free to leave them out if you want.
    • For the TV show, I used all the different shapes of holiday cutters. Here I recreated it with my collection of Christmas tree cookie cutters. I love the different shapes and sizes. Find your own tree cutters here.

    More Easy Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas:

    I have lots of easy Christmas cookie recipes on my blog already, but here are some of my favorites:

    • Santa's Face Sugar Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Rudolph Reindeer Cookies
    • Chocolate Snowman Cookies
    • Honey Cinnamon Cut Out Cookies
    Almond Ginger Cookies with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting trees

    Almond Ginger Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Tara Teaspoon
    Christmas tree sugar cookies are made from a soft sugar cookie recipe with almonds and ginger. Almond ginger cookies are even better with a fluffy, ginger cream cheese frosting.
    4.85 from 19 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 3 hrs 15 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 5 hrs 30 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 36 cookies
    Calories 252 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Almond Ginger Cookies

    • 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
    • 3 large eggs
    • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 tablespoons sour cream
    • ⅔ cup sliced almonds toasted

    Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

    • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
    • ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter softened
    • 1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
    • 5 cups confectioners' sugar
    • Gel paste food coloring
    • Sanding and Crystal sugar
    • Sprinkles

    Instructions
     

    • Whisk together the flour, salt, ground ginger and baking powder; set aside.
    • In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in grated ginger, continue to mix for 30 seconds. 
    • Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Continue to add vanilla extract and sour cream. Slowly add the flour mixture, followed by toasted almonds, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl until dough is formed. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
    • Heat oven to 400ºF and line baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ⅜ of an inch thickness. Using 3-to-4-inch cookie cutters, cut shapes. Transfer to baking sheets and bake until cookies are just done, 8 to 10 min. Cool on pans. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling scraps once.
    • While cookies are cooling, in an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add grated ginger and pinch of salt, until just combined. Slowly add confectioners' sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl. Continue to mix until fluffy. 
    • Divide frosting and tint with gel food coloring to desired colors. Fill pastry bags fitted with tips and decorate cookies as desired. Use sprinkles and sugars to decorate. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    Notes

    • Makes about 3 dozen 3-inch cookies
    • Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting makes about 4 cups of frosting

    Nutrition

    Calories: 252kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 78mgPotassium: 74mgFiber: 1gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 389IUCalcium: 31mgIron: 1mg
    Want to watch videos to show you how to cook?Check out our Youtube and try this recipe and more.

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    About Tara Teaspoon

    I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.

    Find out more!

    Recipe and images Tara Teaspoon

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    Filed Under: Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Desserts, Frosting + Icing Tagged With: almond, almond ginger cookies, cookie cutters, cookies, cream cheese, cream cheese frosting, cut outs, ginger, holiday, sugar cookies

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mary Bench says

      July 16, 2018 at 5:56 pm

      Prettiest I've ever seen!

      Reply
    2. Brittany Smart says

      July 19, 2018 at 1:53 pm

      i'm obsessed with almond & i'm obsessed with ginger, so I'm definitely a big fan of this recipe!! Also these trees are perfect and gorgeous, almost don't want to eat them!

      Reply
    3. Jesse Yuen says

      November 30, 2018 at 1:01 am

      I think there is an error in the recipe. the ingredients say baking powder but the instructions say baking soda. I'm assuming its baking soda vs powder.

      Reply
    4. Jenny says

      December 24, 2018 at 4:20 pm

      I am curious which to use as well. Soda or powder? I used powder from the ingredient list. Not sure ? if I am fully happy they turned out. I will see how they are after Icing

      Reply
    5. Julie says

      December 03, 2019 at 11:56 am

      These cookies are gorgeous! I hope mine turn out as nice. Thanks for the great recipe!

      Reply
      • Tara Teaspoon says

        December 03, 2019 at 11:56 am

        Julie, you are going to love these cookies and I'm sure yours will turn out beautifully. Happy Holidays - Tara

        Reply
    6. Tammy says

      December 14, 2019 at 2:08 pm

      Also noticed the baking soda/baking powder mix up so I split it and used both. Cookies definitely really puffy, and did not hold their shape well at all. Also This only ended up making 1.5 dozen. Cookies taste pretty bland tbh, I'm hoping once icing goes on it'll be better.

      Reply
      • Tara says

        December 16, 2019 at 9:28 am

        Thanks for letting me know baking soda was noted in the method. The cookie calls for baking powder and that is the correct leavening. As I mention in the post these cookies are soft and a fluffier sugar cookie, especially because of the sour cream. These cookies are not the crisper sugar cookies that hold their exact shape. For that type of cookie, try my Santa Face Sugar Cookies. Yes, certainly any frosted cookie will taste best, and complete with the frosting on top. I hope you found the end result tasty and will make them with the correct ingredients again! Thanks!

        Reply
    7. Amanda says

      December 04, 2020 at 5:59 pm

      The kids and I will be making these this weekend, can't wait!

      Reply
      • Tara says

        December 05, 2020 at 12:18 am

        Can't wait to see them! Tag @tarateaspoon if you share on social!

        Reply
    8. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says

      December 04, 2020 at 8:07 pm

      These Christmas tree sugar cookies would disappear in our house!

      Reply
      • Tara says

        December 05, 2020 at 12:18 am

        They do at mine!!

        Reply
    9. Toni Dash says

      December 07, 2020 at 3:10 am

      This is so amazing! A must-have for our holiday baking! Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    10. Catalina says

      December 07, 2020 at 9:29 am

      These Christmas tree cookies are too cute! I must make them with my kid!

      Reply
    11. Cathy says

      December 07, 2020 at 12:12 pm

      Almond ginger cookies sound amazing! These are so perfect!

      Reply
    12. Patricia @ Grab a Plate says

      December 08, 2020 at 9:40 am

      These are lovely! And I especially love the flavor - a really nice addition. These will be the hit of the cookie platter 🙂

      Reply
    13. Sandra McCollum says

      December 08, 2020 at 1:03 pm

      This recipe is so perfect!! A must-make for the holidays!

      Reply
    14. Megan Palmer says

      December 31, 2020 at 4:10 pm

      These cookies are adorable!

      Reply

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