Gingerbread Cookie Trees
Gingerbread Cookie Trees
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons each ground ginger and ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons each ground nutmeg, ground cloves and ground allspice
Icing
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Equipment
3 wooden kebab skewers
4 star-shaped cookie cutters (various sizes)
1 drinking straw
Cookie decorations (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients. Gradually add flour mix to the egg/sugar mix until blended. Refrigerate up to 1 hour for best results, or use immediately.
Roll out dough approximately 1/4-inch on a lightly floured surface. Using floured star cookie cutters, cut 2 stars per shape, per tree and transfer to cookie sheets. Place same size stars on same cookie sheets for best baking results.
Before baking, using the straw to cut holes in the center of each star. Bake cookies about 10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Let cool on cookie sheets 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack.
While the cookies bake, make the icing. Beat shortening with powdered sugar. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
Once the cookies are cool, frost points of each star. If desired, decorate with silver/gold balls, colored sprinkles and decorating sugar. Allow icing to dry.
Using wooden skewers, stack approximately 8 cookies per tree; more if you want taller trees, less for shorter ones. Cut skewer to size and finish by icing tops to cover hole and skewer and let dry.
Each batch makes about 3 trees or 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
Cook's note: For a finished look, before starting, attach skewer to a base (like a log or piece of wood) and place small square of wax paper over base to protect cookies. Display on a platter and surround with pine branches.
Nutrition values per medium cookie without icing: 106 calories, 6 g fat, 13 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein, 13 mg cholesterol, 40 mg sodium.
Mary Elliott, Roselle, 1st place Cut-out category