Christmas tree cookie forest is a set of standing 3D sugar cookies, cut in pairs, slotted together and iced green with white sprinkle snow. That makes it a centerpiece bake for a Christmas table, a cookie exchange or a party platter, since the trees stand up instead of lying flat.
Freeze the cut shapes before they go anywhere near the oven, twice, because cold dough holds a sharp edge. Trees that soften first bake out rounded, and the slots close up so the halves will not fit together.
Each tree is two identical cutouts with opposite slots, one cut up from the bottom and one down from the top, so they lock together like cardboard. Both faces get iced with a bare strip up the middle, which is the gap the slot needs.
Expect more trees than the card says. The dough weighs about 1,294 grams, which rolls to roughly 301 square inches at a quarter inch, enough for about 19 cutouts. That is 9 standing trees, which matches the method own note of 8 to 10 pairs rather than the 6 in the yield line.
4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalMatching tree cutouts are slotted together into standing 3D cookies, iced green on both sides and dusted with sugar to make a little forest.
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, 2 for the dough and 1 for the egg wash
3 sticks (24 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- For the Royal Icing:
1 pound (about 3 1/2 cups) confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Forest green gel food coloring
White sprinkles, for decorating
Directions
FAQs
How many trees does this actually make?
About 9. The yield field says 6 tree cookies, but the method itself tells you to expect 8 to 10 pairs, and the dough backs that up. At 1,294 grams rolled a quarter inch thick you get around 301 square inches, which is roughly 19 tree cutouts once you reroll the scraps.
Why cut the slots after freezing rather than before?
A paring knife drags and tears through soft dough, so the slot comes out ragged and the two halves bind instead of sliding. Frozen dough cuts cleanly and holds the half inch width. Freeze again after cutting so the edges survive the oven.
My trees will not stand up, what went wrong?
Usually the base is not flat, since cookies dome very slightly as they bake. Shave the bottom edge with a paring knife until it sits level on the counter before you ice anything. Check the slot depth too, because a shallow slot leaves the tree leaning.
Do I need tree shaped cutters?
No, and the original gives the workaround. Draw a tree on paper with a ruler, cut it out and trim around it with a paring knife. Make one stencil per size so the pairs truly match, since mismatched halves will not slot together. Our gingerbread house is built from paper templates the same way.
Can I bake the trees ahead of the party?
Yes, bake and keep them flat and airtight for up to a week, then ice and assemble on the day. Standing them early risks a lean or a snapped slot. If you want a simpler cut out cookie alongside, our best butter cookies need no construction at all.
