Peppermint Christmas Tree Cookies
Add some holiday charm to your cookie boxes! Peppermint Christmas Tree Cookies are a simple roll-out cookie recipe with peppermint flavoring. The cookie dough is easy to roll out–no sticking! The dough is made with melted butter instead of softened butter, so it’s easy to mix together without an electric mixer.
For more holiday fun, try my Crumbl Copycat Frozen Hot Chocolate Cookies!
Notes from Ellen
I love the beautifully decorated Christmas cookies that seem to be everywhere this time of year. However, I don’t always have a lot of time (or energy) for making such cookies, so this recipe is a simplified version!
Like my heart-shaped cookies for Valentine’s Day, these cookies are dipped right into a bowl of icing. They drip icing briefly and then are flipped over. There might be some bubbles and imperfections which are easily removed with a toothpick.
To add extra pizzazz you use Christmas sprinkles or add some simple drizzles with another contrasting color of frosting.
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Ingredients & Best Practices
You can find the complete ingredients list within the printable recipe card, but here’s a few notes that will help you make these cookies perfectly!
Unsalted Butter – I always use unsalted American butter in my recipes. I shop at Costco the most frequently so I often go with their store-brand of butter for baking.
All-Purpose Flour – I use all-purpose flour in my baking. It’s very very important to measure your flour correctly. Never pack flour into a measuring cup. Use a scale for best results.
Light Corn Syrup – Instead of making a classic royal icing that calls for meringue powder or egg whites, this recipe uses corn syrup instead. The frosting is a little less precise when piped, but in my opinion it tastes better (no eggy taste) and it’s easier to work with.
Peppermint Extract – Sub in vanilla extract instead if you prefer. Don’t use an extract labeled “mint” because these tend to have “toothpaste” flavor.
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Peppermint Christmas Tree Cookies
Here’s a summary of how this recipe is made. Find the complete ingredients list and full instructions within the printable recipe card below!
No Sticky Dough!
After mixing together the cookie dough, you will need to chill it for 2 hours (longer is fine too). If the dough is sticky, it needs more time to chill. You will use powdered sugar (instead of flour) to roll out the cookies.
I have found this recipe to be fail-proof as far as stickiness–the ratios are perfect for avoiding sticky dough situations. However, do consider the overall temperature of your kitchen as you work with the dough.
A cool kitchen and especially a cool countertop are essential to keeping the dough cold. If the dough gets too warm you may have problems with sticking.
Easy Icing and How to Make It
This icing is super easy! You’ll make a plain white icing first. It should drizzle from a smooth ribbon from the whisk and hold its shape on top of the bowl of icing before the drizzles start to soak back into the icing.
It might take a little trial and error to get the consistency the way you like it. If it’s too thin, it will slide right off the cookies. If it’s too thick, it will leave a very thick layer on top of each cookie.
I always bake up my scraps of cookie dough for taste-testing and these work perfect for testing the icing once you feel like you’ve got it right.
Note: Sifting the powdered sugar before making the frosting helps achieve perfectly smooth icing. I highly suggest taking the extra few minutes to sift!
To dip the cookies: Hold a cookie upside down by the edges and dip face-first into the icing. You are just dipping the front of the cookie.
Lift and allow the excess icing to drip for 3-4 seconds. Quickly flip the cookie, gently wiggle it to spread icing, and set on a wire rack or lined cookie sheet to set. Pop any bubbles or swipe away drips with a toothpick.
Decorating ideas: If you want sprinkles, add them immediately. The icing begins hardening quickly. You can also pipe designs on the hardened icing or attach larger sprinkles with tiny dots of fresh icing.
Allow cookies to harden at room temperature for several hours (4+ hours ideally) before carefully stacking and storing. I like to place a piece of wax paper between each layer when storing. I’ve carefully stacked multiple layers of cookies with no problems.
How to Store or Make Ahead
To store iced cookies: Cookies with dry icing can be kept at room temperature (store in a sealed air tight container) or in the fridge. Store for 3-5 days. I haven’t frozen cookies with this icing recipe yet, but I’ll update when I do. I think it should work fine!
To store leftover frosting: just lightly cover the surface with plastic wrap (the wrap should touch the icing) and then store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
FAQS and Baking Tips
Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way we hope! If your cookies aren’t perfect, read through these troubleshooting tips to figure out what went wrong.
This recipe is carefully developed and tested to avoid stickiness! No one wants to roll out sticky sugar cookies. I always suggest measuring flour very carefully (weighing it is ideal) to avoid measuring errors.
The other problem can be a warm kitchen. If the oven has been on all day or you are rolling out cookies above a steaming dishwasher, you’re going to have problems. Chill the dough completely and keep it cool to avoid stickiness!
These cookies are made with melted butter and they do spread a little more than other recipes might. However, it should not be excessive. Be sure you are baking cool dough. Roll and cut cookies from cold dough and bake immediately. Don’t leave trays of unbaked cookies out at room temperature–this will increase spreading.
Prevent cookies from sticking by using parchment paper or silicone baking mats. I prefer parchment paper as there have been plenty of tests from professional bakers demonstrating improved results from parchment. But choose what works for you! I always love baking a test cookie before I bake an entire sheet.
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Peppermint Christmas Tree Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled for 10 minutes
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 5.25 ounces
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 8.35 ounces
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Sugar Cookie Icing:
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted 9 ounces
- 1 ½ tablespoon light corn syrup
- 3-5 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract OR 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- green food coloring gel style preferred
- sprinkles optional
- additional powdered sugar for thickening as needed
Instructions
Make the Cookies:
- Pour melted and cooled butter into a medium bowl and add granulated sugar. Stir until the mixture is totally combined. It should be thick and shiny. Stir in egg and peppermint extract until combined and smooth, about 60 seconds.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl with the other ingredients and use a spatula or spoon to stir together until combined. Dough will be very soft.
- Chill dough for 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- After chilling, sprinkle a clean countertop with powdered sugar. Sprinkle the dough as well and roll out using a rolling pin. Roll to 1/8” thickness. Cut Christmas trees with a cookie cutter. Note: Combine scraps and place dough back in fridge while the first batch is baking and cooling. Re-roll scraps 1x. Any cookies after that will be a little tough and messy-looking. I give these ones to my kiddos who are always eager to taste-test.
- Arrange Christmas trees 1.5” apart on parchment lined baking sheets and bake one sheet at a time for 9-10 minutes. Check at 7-8 minutes to be sure you don’t overbake. You want just the tiniest bit of golden brown on the edges.
- Cool cookies completely before decorating.
Make the Icing:
- Combine 3 tablespoons of the milk along with the other icing ingredients (except food coloring and sprinkles) into a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more of the milk as needed.
- Frosting should drizzle from a smooth ribbon from the whisk and hold its shape on top of the bowl of icing before the drizzles start to soak back into the icing.
- Adjust consistency: If it’s too thick, add a little more milk (1 teaspoon at a time), if it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar (a few tablespoons at a time). Note that thicker icing will get used up faster, so that may affect yield if it is too thick.
- Optional: If you want to decorate the cookies as shown, set aside about ¼ cup frosting and leave it white.
- Color the remaining icing green with a small amount of green food coloring.
- Hold a cookie upside down by the edges and dip face-first into the icing. You are just dipping the front of the cookie.
- Lift and allow the excess icing to drip for 3-4 seconds. Quickly flip the cookie, gently wiggle it to spread icing, and set on a wire rack or lined cookie sheet to set. Pop any bubbles or swipe away drips quickly with a toothpick.
- Decorating ideas: If you want sprinkles, add them immediately. The icing begins hardening quickly.If you want to pipe designs on the cookies, then wait for the green layer to dry completely (a few hours). Then, fill a small piping bag fit with a small round tip (or just cut the very end of the piping bag) and pipe designs onto your cookies with the white icing.
- Allow cookies to harden at room temperature for several hours (4+ hours ideally) before carefully stacking and storing. I like to place a piece of wax paper between each layer when storing. I’ve carefully stacked multiple layers of cookies with no problems.
