Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

Aren’t these the cutest little Christmas Tree cookies you’ve ever seen? I’ll bet you are scratching your head and wondering “How in the world did she do that?  Is there a fancy new gadget from WS that I’ve missed, a new cookie cutter perhaps or mold that forms the tree with lots of fiddling and frustration involved?” Ha..ha..ha…not this time.

The process is one of dividing the dough and adding color.  Then the dough is layered in a loaf pan which is lined with parchment.  One thing to remember is that the depth of the layers will equal the size of the cookies. Cathy explains the process in detail, here.  A quarter inch slice is taken from the slab of dough.  Triangles are then cut from the slice.  A red base is added to each triangle tree.

They are then dipped into sanding sugar and baked.

 Preheat oven:  375°

Bake time:  7-9 minutes

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, (2 sticks) at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp cream/milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla 

Sift flour with baking powder and salt and set aside. 

Cream butter, gradually add sugar, creaming well.  Stir in egg, cream, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.  Chill if necessary. 

Divide dough in half. Add green food coloring to one of the halves.  Blend well.

Divide the second half into two parts.  Leave one part plain.  Add red food coloring to the other and blend well.  Use enough food coloring to make vibrant colors.  The colors tend to fade during baking. 

Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  

Bake the cookies at 375° for 7-9 minutes. 

Recipe Source: http://aspoonfulofthyme.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-tree-sugar-cookies.html