Time 6h10m Yield 1 cookie tree (2 dozen cookies) Number Of Ingredients 16 Steps:

COMBINE flour and salt in large bowl. Beat shortening, sugar and vanilla in separate large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in egg yolks and orange juice. Gradually stir in flour mixture to form a soft dough. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, shaping each into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 4 hours or overnight. HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out dough, one piece at a time, to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface.* Keep remaining dough chilled until ready to use. Cut out a total of 24 cookies, using the 2 largest cookie cutters 4 times each and the 8 remaining cookie cutters 2 times each. Bake on prepared baking sheets, 16 minutes for small cookies, 18 minutes for large cookies, or until edges begin to brown and centers are set. (Group similar size cookies on same baking sheet for even baking.) Carefully slide baked cookies on parchment paper onto work surface. Cookies may be fragile while warm. Cool completely. STIR powdered sugar and meringue powder in large bowl until combined. Add water. Beat with electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 to 7 minutes. If necessary, add additional powdered sugar or water to reach the desired spreading consistency. (Keep frosting covered with damp cloth to prevent hardening.) Reserve one of the smallest size cookies for later use. Spread icing over remaining cookies, immediately topping with decorator sprinkles. PLACE one of the largest size cookies on decorative platter to begin assembly. Spoon about 1 tablespoon remaining icing onto center of cookie. Repeat to stack additional 22 cookies on top, by decreasing size, rotating each cookie slightly to stagger points of stars. To complete decoration, hold reserved small cookie by its edges and coat both side with frosting. Decorate as desired. Stand upright on top of tree, securing with a small dab of icing. Let stand until icing is firm.

Time 40m Yield 9 servings. Number Of Ingredients 10 Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°. Place cookie dough in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature to soften, 5-10 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; beat until blended., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Using a floured 2-in. round cookie cutter, cut out 18 cookies. Repeat with 1-1/2-in. and 1-in. round cookie cutters. For remaining dough, use a floured 1/2-in. star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out 9 stars. , Sprinkle round cookies with colored sugar. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are light brown, 6-9 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For each Christmas tree, pipe frosting on top of a Rolo candy for a trunk; top with a 2-in. cookie. Pipe frosting on top and bottom of a Necco wafer; place in center of cookie. Top with another 2-in. cookie. Repeat layers with two 1-1/2-in. cookies and two 1-in. cookies, using Smarties between the smaller layers. , For stars, color a small amount of frosting yellow and pipe onto cookies; attach to the tops of trees using additional frosting. Thin remaining frosting with water; drizzle over edges. Decorate with nonpareils.

Time 2h16m Yield 60 Number Of Ingredients 13 Steps:

Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl. Cream using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the butter mixture and mix to combine. Shape dough into a ball, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour to overnight. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out different-sized stars with cookie cutters; the height of the Christmas tree will depend on the number of cookies you stack, but you need at least 7 or 8 stars. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer cookies carefully onto wire racks and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Combine confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water in a bowl and beat at low speed using an electric blender until peaks form, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour icing into a piping bag with a star-shaped tip. Place the largest star onto a plate and pipe a little bit of royal icing into the middle. Add the second-largest star on top, turning the star slightly so the points are offset from the previous star cookie. Repeat adding smaller-sized star cookies and attaching them with royal icing. Decorate the cookie Christmas tree with royal icing, silver balls, and other holiday decor. Roll out yellow fondant and cut out a small star to place on top of the cookie tree and secure with royal icing. Decorate remaining cookies to your liking. Dust the finished tree with confectioners’ sugar.

Time 1h30m Yield 24 Number Of Ingredients 5 Steps:

Heat oven to 375°F. Make drop cookie dough as directed on pouch. Shape 3 (1/4-cup) balls (2 inches in diameter) from dough. Shape 3 more balls using 3 level tablespoons dough (1 7/8 inches in diameter) for each ball. Place all 6 balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Meanwhile, shape 3 balls using 2 tablespoons dough (1 3/4 inches in diameter) for each ball. Shape 3 balls using rounded tablespoon dough (1 1/2 inches in diameter) for each ball. Place all 6 balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Continue with remaining dough to make 3 balls of each of the following diameters: 1 1/4 inches, 1 inch, 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool all cookies completely, about 30 minutes. Each tree will be a stack of 8 different size cookies. To assemble 3 trees, stack cookies on serving platter, starting with largest size cookie on bottom, and stacking each smaller size cookie on top, spreading frosting between each layer before stacking. Heat remaining frosting in microwavable bowl uncovered on High 10 to 15 seconds or until frosting can be stirred smooth. Drizzle over trees, and garnish with sprinkles. Sprinkle powdered sugar on platter to look like snow.

Yield 12 trees Number Of Ingredients 8 Steps:

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stack each kind of cookie together in pairs, using about ½ teaspoon of white frosting to hold the cookies together. Dab ½ teaspoon of white frosting on top of a stack of 3-inch (7 cm) cookies, then place a stack of 2-inch (5 cm) cookies on top. Dab ¼ teaspoon of frosting on top of the 2-inch (5 cm) cookie, then place a 1-inch (2.54 cm) cookie stack on top. Dab another ¼ teaspoon of frosting on top, then finish with a stack of ½-inch (1.24 cm) cookies. Set on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining cookies and frosting to make 12 “trees.” Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator to firm up the frosting, about 15 minutes. Carefully pipe the green icing around the bottom ledges of each cookie tree, then decorate with white and red pearl sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining ledges between each cookie layer, then pipe a small circle of icing at the top of each tree and finish with a single sprinkle. Return the pan to the refrigerator to firm up the icing at any point if needed. Enjoy!

Yield Makes enough dough for 1 tree Number Of Ingredients 11 Steps:

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough into four parts, and flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place a clean piece of parchment paper or a Silpat (a French nonstick baking mat) on work surface, and dust generously with flour. Place one disk of dough in center, and roll to 3/16 inch thick. While rolling, occasionally run a large offset spatula under the dough to distribute the flour and prevent sticking. Use more flour for the top or bottom of dough if necessary. Transfer parchment paper and rolled dough to a cookie sheet that fits in freezer. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until the dough is chilled through. (This may be done in the refrigerator, but it will take longer.) Repeat process with remaining dough (you can stack sheets in the freezer to chill). Remove dough and parchment from the freezer, and transfer to work surface. Using the cutout templates and a paring knife or utility knife, cut three of each size star. Using a plastic straw, poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Remove the templates from the dough, and pull away scraps from the stars. If the stars are too close together, carefully use a spatula to transfer them to a parchment or Silpatlined baking sheet. Return cut cookies to the freezer to chill before baking; this will prevent excessive spreading. Reroll scraps, and cut out remaining stars. Once the cookies are chilled through, remove them from freezer, and place in the oven. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, rotating at least once, until cookies begin to get color. Remove from oven, and transfer to a heat-proof surface. Decorate the cookies with Royal Icing and sanding sugar or nonpareils if desired. Place one of the largest cookies on a plate, and place an 11-inch wooden skewer in the hole. Stack the remaining two largest cookies on top, spiraling them so that the points don’t line up. Continue to stack the cookies in descending-size order. If you have left the cookies undecorated, dust them with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Serve.

Yield 60 Number Of Ingredients 8 Steps:

Mix confectioners’ sugar, butter or margarine, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide dough into halves. On lightly floured cloth-covered board, roll each half out to 3/16 inch thick. on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into Christmas shapes. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool on wire racks and decorate as desired.