Star Cookie Trees Recipes

CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIE STACK

Steps:

• Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl. Cream using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the butter mixture and mix to combine. Shape dough into a ball, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out different-sized stars with cookie cutters; the height of the Christmas tree will depend on the number of cookies you stack, but you need at least 7 or 8 stars. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer cookies carefully onto wire racks and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Combine confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and water in a bowl and beat at low speed using an electric blender until peaks form, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour icing into a piping bag with a star-shaped tip.
• Place the largest star onto a plate and pipe a little bit of royal icing into the middle. Add the second-largest star on top, turning the star slightly so the points are offset from the previous star cookie. Repeat adding smaller-sized star cookies and attaching them with royal icing. Decorate the cookie Christmas tree with royal icing, silver balls, and other holiday decor. Roll out yellow fondant and cut out a small star to place on top of the cookie tree and secure with royal icing. Decorate remaining cookies to your liking.
• Dust the finished tree with confectioners' sugar.

STAR COOKIE TREES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
• Reduce speed to low, and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough into four parts, and flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place a clean piece of parchment paper or a Silpat (a French nonstick baking mat) on work surface, and dust generously with flour. Place one disk of dough in center, and roll to 3/16 inch thick. While rolling, occasionally run a large offset spatula under the dough to distribute the flour and prevent sticking. Use more flour for the top or bottom of dough if necessary. Transfer parchment paper and rolled dough to a cookie sheet that fits in freezer. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until the dough is chilled through. (This may be done in the refrigerator, but it will take longer.) Repeat process with remaining dough (you can stack sheets in the freezer to chill).
• Remove dough and parchment from the freezer, and transfer to work surface. Using the cutout templates and a paring knife or utility knife, cut three of each size star. Using a plastic straw, poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Remove the templates from the dough, and pull away scraps from the stars. If the stars are too close together, carefully use a spatula to transfer them to a parchment or Silpatlined baking sheet. Return cut cookies to the freezer to chill before baking; this will prevent excessive spreading. Reroll scraps, and cut out remaining stars.
• Once the cookies are chilled through, remove them from freezer, and place in the oven. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, rotating at least once, until cookies begin to get color. Remove from oven, and transfer to a heat-proof surface.
• Decorate the cookies with Royal Icing and sanding sugar or nonpareils if desired. Place one of the largest cookies on a plate, and place an 11-inch wooden skewer in the hole. Stack the remaining two largest cookies on top, spiraling them so that the points don't line up. Continue to stack the cookies in descending-size order. If you have left the cookies undecorated, dust them with confectioners' sugar if desired. Serve.

HOLIDAY COOKIE TREE CENTERPIECE

Steps:

• COMBINE flour and salt in large bowl. Beat shortening, sugar and vanilla in separate large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in egg yolks and orange juice. Gradually stir in flour mixture to form a soft dough. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, shaping each into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 4 hours or overnight.
• HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out dough, one piece at a time, to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface.* Keep remaining dough chilled until ready to use. Cut out a total of 24 cookies, using the 2 largest cookie cutters 4 times each and the 8 remaining cookie cutters 2 times each. Bake on prepared baking sheets, 16 minutes for small cookies, 18 minutes for large cookies, or until edges begin to brown and centers are set. (Group similar size cookies on same baking sheet for even baking.) Carefully slide baked cookies on parchment paper onto work surface. Cookies may be fragile while warm. Cool completely.
• STIR powdered sugar and meringue powder in large bowl until combined. Add water. Beat with electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 to 7 minutes. If necessary, add additional powdered sugar or water to reach the desired spreading consistency. (Keep frosting covered with damp cloth to prevent hardening.) Reserve one of the smallest size cookies for later use. Spread icing over remaining cookies, immediately topping with decorator sprinkles.
• PLACE one of the largest size cookies on decorative platter to begin assembly. Spoon about 1 tablespoon remaining icing onto center of cookie. Repeat to stack additional 22 cookies on top, by decreasing size, rotating each cookie slightly to stagger points of stars. To complete decoration, hold reserved small cookie by its edges and coat both side with frosting. Decorate as desired. Stand upright on top of tree, securing with a small dab of icing. Let stand until icing is firm.