Description
Celebrate the holiday season with these delightful Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies, featuring a zesty lime-infused dough and beautifully decorated with royal icing and sprinkles. These festive treats combine the perfect buttery crunch with a smooth, sweet icing that’s perfect for gifting or enjoying with loved ones.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
For the Icing:
- 3 large egg whites
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Pink gel food coloring
- Sprinkles (sugar pearls and sugar sprinkles)
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the flour and kosher salt. Add the lime zest, and set the mixture aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and lime juice at medium speed. Scrape down the sides frequently and continue for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is creamy and light.
- Add Eggs: Incorporate the eggs into the butter mixture, beating until well combined.
- Form Dough: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in batches. Mix until the dough comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Chill Dough: Flatten the dough into a disc shape and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour to firm up the dough.
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Use a 3-inch Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out shapes.
- Bake Cookies: Place the cut-out cookies on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.
- Cool: Allow cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Royal Icing: In a clean, dry stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high until foamy.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Reduce mixer speed and add powdered sugar in batches, beating until the icing thickens and holds stiff peaks.
- Color and Thin Icing: Divide icing into two portions: keep one white, tint the other pink using gel food coloring. Reserve ¼ of each for thick icing. Add 1-2 teaspoons of water to the remaining portions to thin slightly for flooding.
- Fill Icing Bags: Transfer the thick and thin icings into separate piping bags.
- Outline Cookies: Using thick icing, pipe an outline around each cookie, leaving a small border.
- Flood Cookies: Fill the interior of each outlined cookie with thin icing. Use a toothpick to spread evenly.
- Decorate: While the icing is still slightly wet, sprinkle superfine sugar and immediately add sprinkles to decorate.
- Serve: Allow the icing to set before serving and enjoy these festive Christmas tree sugar cookies.
Notes
- Ensure the mixer bowl and whisk are completely dry before beating egg whites to achieve proper volume.
- Wrapping the dough in plastic and chilling is essential to prevent spreading during baking.
- Adjust the amount of water added to the icing to get the perfect consistency for outlining and flooding.
- Use gel food coloring to avoid thinning out the icing.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness for up to a week.
- For added flavor, consider adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the dough.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
