vanilla bourbon christmas tree cookies
Oh how CUTE.
Hooray, our final recipe in this year’s Christmas Cookie Box! These were the most enjoyable little dudes to bake up. So yes, I guess we’re saving the best for last.
Our Vanilla Bourbon Christmas Tree Cookies are comprised of a soft, lightly boozed up sugar cookie base (no jawbreaking dough here!) frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream dyed a glorious green to channel that holiday energy. They are the pinnacle of adorable and will delight all of your gift recipients, or the guests at the party you’re hosting or attending in the days upcoming.
Like all of my cookie box recipes, these are meant to be fun, so break out your cheesiest Christmas album, a Santa hat, and get that holly jolly baking on!
Hey, Sugar
Sugar cookie dough will be stiffer than my usual cookie dough, since we have to roll it out for the shapes and to prevent too much spread. Thus, it’s a bit different than my usual sequence, so follow along, pals.
Cream butter with sugar until fluffy, then whip in an egg, some vanilla, and a touch of bourbon. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough is cohesive and soft. It should make a ball pretty easily in your hands.
The method of rolling and cutting sugar cookies varies from person to person, so if you have a formula you prefer, go for it. I recommend 1/4 inch thickness, however, no matter your preference.
Here, however, is what I did:
First, grab two large sheets of parchment paper and lay one on a flat surface. Drop your dough ball on top, then place the second sheet over the dough. Roll the dough from edge to edge of the parchment.
Next, once the dough reaches the necessary thickness, slide onto the biggest baking sheet you have. Transfer to the fridge to chill for 15 minutes, or up to overnight.
When you’re ready to slice and bake, slide the parchment onto your flat surface again. I use the top sheet of parchment as the liner for my baking sheet, but you can use a new piece if you wish.
Use your favorite Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out your shapes, and place onto the prepared baking sheet. You will likely need two sheets, so have a second one prepped too. The cookies can be pretty close together, about 1 inch, as they won’t spread all too much.
When you’ve spent all the dough you can in one round of cutting, gather the scraps into a ball, roll again, and continue cutting until you’ve used what you can. 20-24 cookies is likely depending on the size of your cookie cutter and your level of patience.
Set your baking sheets in the fridge to chill an additional 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and set. Cool on the baking sheets. These guys come to room temp pretty quickly, so not a huge wait time before you can get to the joyful process of spiffing them up with frosting and sprinkles!
I’m the Happiest Christmas Tree
When the trees are cool, make your frosting. I used a batch of my standard vanilla buttercream, with the addition of green gel dye to get a nice spunky tree-like hue.
Whip together your butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and dye. I start with 3 tablespoons cream and 1 teaspoon of dye, and increase if I feel like the frosting is too thick and not green enough. The buttercream should be fluffy but not so soft that it loses the shape of the piping tip you use when you press a batch onto the cookies.
As far as your decorating style, you do you! I used a star tip to create layers of “pine needles”, but you can go as elaborate or simple as you want. I’m no decorating expert so I’m kinda useless for advice here. I just do what I want.
The cookies store best in a single layer in the fridge, for up to 5 days. Storing them on the counter subjects them to excessive softening from any moisture in the air. They also freeze wonderfully for up to 3 months!
Enjoy these, beautiful people! Christmas comes just once a year, so might as well find positive energy in the process. And if you haven’t breathed today, take a few big ones. You’ve got this!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
What’s in the box?:
Pumpkin Butter White Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
vanilla bourbon christmas tree cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tbsp butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp bourbon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Christmas sprinkles and nonpareils, to decorate
buttercream
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp green gel dye
Instructions
- In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whip in the egg until incorporated, then the vanilla and bourbon. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. The dough should roll into a ball easily when handled.
- Lay a large sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface. Place the dough onto the paper, then lay a second sheet of parchment on top. Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Transfer to the fridge to chill about 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment.
- Use a Christmas tree cookie cutter to slice out your cookies. Place the trees onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch in between each. Re-roll the dough as needed to get more trees: you will likely get 20-24 depending on the size of your cookie cutter.
- Slide the trays into the fridge for 15 minutes, then remove and bake 8-10 minutes until the edges are set and lightly golden. Let cool on the baking sheets.
- When the cookies are cool, make the frosting. On medium-high speed, whip together the butter, powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of heavy cream, the vanilla, and 1 teaspoon dye. Add more dye as needed to achieve your desired shade of green, and more heavy cream as needed to fluff up the buttercream. The frosting should be stiff enough to pipe, but not so stiff that it needs fabric softener.
- Pipe the frosting onto the trees in your desired shape and pattern. Decorate with nonpareils, sprinkles, and whatever else you can find!
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