Christmas Tree Cookies

Be the first to rate it!

These Christmas Tree Cookies are classic cutout cookies made with a rich, buttery shortbread-style dough that holds its shape while baking. Decorated with green marbled icing and festive sprinkles, they’re a simple and fun holiday cookie perfect for decorating, sharing, and gifting.

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

Decorating Time20

Total Time52

Course: Christmas Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Christmas Tree Cookies, marbled icing, shortbread cookies

Servings: cookies

Calories: 186kcal

Author: Lois

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

For the Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
green, red, or yellow food coloring
Christmas sprinkles

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add the butter, sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy.
Add the flour and mix until all the flour is fully incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it out evenly with a rolling pin until it is between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick.
Using a Christmas tree cookie cutter, cut the dough out and place the cookies, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet.
After cutting out the first batch of cookies, gather the leftover dough scraps, reroll the dough, and cut out more cookies. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookie bottoms are lightly golden brown.
Carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Add the powdered sugar and milk to a small mixing bowl and stir until smooth.
Add drops of food coloring to the top of the icing and swirl it around with a toothpick.
Dip the top of a cooled cookie into the icing, pull it straight up, and allow the excess icing to run off.
Turn the cookie over, place it back onto the wire cooling rack, and top it with Christmas sprinkles.
Repeat until all the cookies are decorated.
Allow the icing to dry before stacking the cookies. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to five days.

Video

Notes

Tips

If the dough becomes soft while rolling, chill it briefly to make cutting cleaner and easier.
Gently swirl the food coloring into the icing rather than fully mixing to keep the marbled effect visible.
Let the cookies cool completely before dipping so the icing sets properly.

Storage & Make Ahead

Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days once the icing has set.
Undecorated cookies can be baked ahead and frozen for up to 2 months.
Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature before decorating.

Nutrition