Can it be winter break now. Like, please? I’m so close but it feels so very far away. The weeks between Thanksgiving break and winter break are some of the hardest of the school year. Also the entirety of May. All of my classes are piling on tests and it’s really stressful. But at least I’m done with Nutcracker. Don’t get me wrong I love the holiday dances, but it can get a little exhausting.
I’m so excited for this Friday, I’m going to see A Christmas Carol at the Shakespeare Center. It’s one of our holiday traditions and it’s just so fun! Then I have one last Saturday dance class, and then its sweet sweet freedom for 2 weeks.
We can get there guys. But you know what makes it even better? These cookies.
Describe these Cookies to Me
Taste: These have the sweet flavors of eggnog, in a cookie! You’ve got that butteriness, and plenty of nutmeg and allspice. These are just like the Tollhouse cookies, but upgraded.
Texture: These cookies have a pretty straightforward texture. A little soft, a little chewy, just a little crunch on the outside. It took a lot of testing to get the right shape without these being too dry, but we got there!
Ease: The dough for these cookies is very straightforward. Just butter, sugar, eggs, flour, some spices, you know the stuff. Where it gets a little tricky is the shaping. I’ll talk a little more about this later, but it takes a while. It can get a little sticky, you might have a few wonky trees, and it takes patience. But you’ll get the hang of it!
The Dough
As I said before, this dough is pretty simple. I made a similar cookie back in October that used the same dough with a few alterations. The spices in these are meant to taste like eggnog, not pumpkin spice. Other then that it’s the same. Butter, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. That’s it y’all. Once you’ve dyed some of this green, make sure to chill the dough for a little. This will make shaping a lot easier.
How to Shape These
Once your dough has firmed up a little in the fridge, it’s time to shape them.
Step 1: Form the green dough into 2 triangular logs. Just smush it with your hands, making sure to keep them nice and floured. They should look like those Toblerone chocolate bars. Stick these in the freezer for just a couple of minutes before the next step.
Step 2: After you’ve made your little triangular logs, you gotta coat them in the remaining plain colored dough. To make sure the white dough sticks to the green, brush one side of the green with water. Smush some of the white dough onto that until it’s all covered. Using water works like a glue to make sure they stick. Repeat this with the remaining sides of each log.
Step 3: Roll these finished logs up in cling wrap before returning to the fridge. Make sure to let these chill for a good 2 hours before slicing and baking.
Step 4: Slice up those logs and throw them in the oven!
The Icing
To get that firm shape of the decorations on the tree, we’re using a royal icing. Royal icing is a step up from your regular milk and sugar icing. It uses meringue powder which thickens it to a pipe-able consistency. We’re also whipping a fair amount of air into it to help with this. For these, I colored the icing red and added some fun sprinkles to look like ornaments.
Christmas Tree Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl using either a hand or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until combined and creamy. Add the eggs and beat until smooth and combined. Add the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, and salt and beat on low speed until just combined, you may have to use a spatula to combine the bottom bits.
- Remove a little under half of the dough and place it in a bowl and beat in a few drops of green food coloring. Set aside. Refrigerate both the green and the plain dough for 30-40 minutes.
- See pictures and video for help on shaping if needed.
- On a heavily floured surface with heavily floured hands, mold half of the green dough into a 10 inch long triangular log. Do the same with the remaining dough so you are left with two triangular logs. Place them in the freezer for 3-5 minutes to firm up a tiny bit.
- Divide the plain non-colored dough into six pieces. Each piece will go on one side of the logs. Remove the green logs from the freezer and place back on your floured surface. brush one side if the log with a little water. Then, press one of the pieces of plain dough onto that side. The water acts like a glue here. Repeat with the remaining two sides, pinching the corners together. Repeat with the second log. Wrap both logs in cling wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.
- Remove one of the logs from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into about 1/2 inch – 3/4 inch thick cookies. You should have something like 20-25 cookies from one log. Repeat with the second log.
- Place the cookies on the previously prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned a little on the bottom and sides.
- Add the confectioners sugar, meringue powder, and 4 tablespoons of water to a large bowl. Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip on high speed for about 2 minutes. You may need to add more water, but only add it a Tablespoon at a time. Add the red food coloring.
- To test if the icing is the correct thickness, when you lift the whisk from the bowl the icing should drip down and smooth out in the bowl in about 10 seconds.
- Add the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe strings of icing on the trees, and add sprinkle "ornaments" if desired.