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These gorgeous Christmas Gingerbread Tree cookies are so easy to make, kid friendly and delicious! These are classic gingerbread cookies turned into colorful, festive, and delicious Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies. Adults, kids are going to love them.
Festive, fun and delicious – these colorful Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies are packed with flavor and decorated with M&M’s. Get the family together in the kitchen and have fun making these scrumptious festive cookies!
Looking for more holiday recipes? Why not also try my Baked Mini Apple Pie, Chocolate French Silk Pie and Berry Pavlova Cake.
Why these Decorated Christmas Tree Cookies are so good!
- Packed with spices. Made with butter and honey, these cookies are loaded with all kinds of warming spices.
- Fun to decorate. Topped with M&M’s. Each cookie is decorated with green and red candy, given them an ultra festive vibe and a lovely chocolate hit! It’s a great way to get the kids involved.
- Easy to make gingerbread cookies. These gorgeous Christmas tree cookies come together so easily and this recipe whips up a huge batch, perfect for a crowd. You can also prepare the gingerbread dough or cookies in advance.
Christmas Tree Cookie Ingredients
- Butter– use full fat. Important base for a cookie to mix with other ingredients.
- Confectioner’s Sugar– mixes easily with other ingredients without.
- Pure Honey– Adds sweetness and flavor.
- Egg– Helps make cookies chewy and add structure.
- Flour– I used all purpose flour to make these cookies.
- Cocoa Powder– add color to the cookies.
- Baking Soda-helps cookies softer.
- Salt-balances out the sweetness.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves
- M&M’s– use the mini size for this recipe.
How to make Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies
- Make your gingerbread dough: In a bowl, mix your dry ingredients.
- Mix the butter: In a stand mixer, whip up your butter with powdered sugar and add the egg.
- Next, add in honey and half your dry mix to the butter mixture. Using a paddle attachment, slowly incorporate the rest of the dry mix.
- Roll dough: After chilling your dough in plastic wrap, roll it out the dough.
- Make your cookie shapes: Cut out use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes. Then press in your M&M’s
- Bake: Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips to Make the Best Gingerbread Tree Cookie
- Use a preheated oven.
- Do not overbake. Once the cookies’ edge are slightly crisp, they are done. Over baking the cookies will result in hard, crunchy cookies.
- Measure accurately. Too much flour in these cookies will make them dry.
- Be sure all your ingredients are up to room temp, for a smooth dough that’s easy to mix.
- If you see the dough is sticking too much to the sides of your mixer bowl add a little more all-purpose flour, but don’t over do it.
- Be sure to wrap the dough in plastic wraps and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
- For cleanly cut cookies, dip your cookie cutter in some flour.
- Use parchment on your baking sheet, for easy removal and clean up.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
They also freeze well. To freeze them, allow the cookies to cool completely then place in a freezer safe bag. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge.
Yes, because the dough is sticky once it’s all beaten together must be chilled for at least 30 mins. For a less stressful time in the kitchen make the cookie dough and chill it overnight. You want your cookie dough firm, this way the cookies hold their shape, you also want cookie dough manageable so you can work with it.
I decorated these Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies with red and green mini M&M’s but you can decorate them as you wish! Whip up some basic icing and draw on more decorations and top that with sprinkles. Or just keep them super simple, they still taste great plain!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Danish Butter Cookies Recipe,
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Strawberry Jam Linzer Cookies
- Buckeye Candy Balls
- Gluten Free No-Bake Cookies
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
If you try this recipe and liked it, please leave a star rating and comment below. Use my hashtag to share it with me on Instagram so I can see your delicious recreations! Also, follow me at Cookin’ With Mima on FACEBOOK |INSTAGRAM |PINTEREST for all of my latest social posts and recipes.
Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- ½ cup pure honey
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more if needed
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 – 3 tsp. ground spices, such as cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves
- 1 cup colored mini M&M’s
Instructions
Make the Gingerbread Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and powdered sugar for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Whisk the egg lightly into the butter mixture. The mixture will separate slightly but will come together when the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the honey into the mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Mix half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stop the mixer and replace the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
- Mix until the dough forms one large ball and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Note: The dough should be tough but pliable. If it’s still sticking to the sides of the mixer bowl, add more all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it doesn’t stick.
- Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Shape and Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once chilled, roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to about ⅛ inch thick, or thicker if desired. Use dough measuring strips for even thickness.
- Lightly dip the cookie cutter in flour, then cut out the dough using a Christmas tree cookie cutter.
- Lightly press green and red M&M’s onto the cookies.
- Transfer the cutouts to the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart.
- Bake at 325°F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned.
Notes and Recipe Tips
- Measure the flour accurately because too much flour can make the cookies dry.
- Use room-temperature butter to help it blend evenly with the confectioners’ sugar and create a smoother dough.
