A step by step Christmas cookie tree

A while ago Waitrose sent me a cute little gingerbread cookie Christmas tree kit.  I’ve done a similar thing before for the Britmums blog last year so I know it can be a bit fiddly, and I kept putting it off.  Then last night the oldest decided to have a few mates round so I thought I’d crack out the gingerbread as a surprise.

Well as usual it all went a bit Pete Tong as I went upstairs quickly to do something and didn’t hear the oven timer.  The festive chiming of the smoke alarm reminded me that they were still in the oven and I came down to find my little gingerbread stars a bit charred, so I’m afraid I can’t tell you how they tasted!

No matter.  I started again with my own easy shortbread recipe, the old faithful 2/4/6:

2oz/50g caster sugar (I use vanilla sugar)

4oz/100g butter

6oz/150g plain flour

Just melt the butter then mix in the sugar and flour to make a dough.  Wrap in clingfilm and rest for a little while somewhere cool, then roll out.

The kit gives you a cardboard template for different sized stars (you need two of each size) but I’ve got cutters, which are slightly easier.  The stars take literally 10 minutes to bake once you’ve cut them out.  Keep checking on them because – ahem – they burn quite easily.

Next, make up some glacé icing (or the kit contains white fondant icing).  I made mine lime green with some food colouring paste in ‘lemon/lime’.  Ice each star and leave to set.  Then just decorate with more icing and little silver balls and copious amounts of glitter (it IS Christmas), then just stack ‘em up, rotating each biscuit slightly to get your tree shape.

Ours was a bit wonky (‘the leaning tower of tree-sa’, if you will) but hey, it only lasted about two minutes, so no matter.

Do give it a go, it’s terrific fun and would make a wonderful Christmas tradition to recreate year after year (oh and if you do give it a try, do send me a photo!).

 

5 Responses to “A step by step Christmas cookie tree”

1. lucario says:

   December 25, 2012 at 5:47 pm

   Can you use differant shape cutters?

   Reply
2. D.J.Kirkby says:

   December 18, 2012 at 9:27 am

   I want to make one but don’t have star shaped cookie cutters! #mumfail

   Reply
   • English Mum says:

     December 18, 2012 at 9:34 am

     You can print cardboard stars, cut them out then put them on the rolled out dough and cut round them… bit of a faff but it would work… x

     Reply
3. RubbishWife says:

   December 18, 2012 at 9:12 am

   Love it. I expect my lot would fight over the different size pieces lol

   Reply
   • English Mum says:

     December 18, 2012 at 9:34 am

     Ah yes, mine did that too!

     Reply