Decked Out Christmas Tree Cut Cookies
31/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
21/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
Candy decorations
Special equipment
3-inch Christmas tree cookie cutter
Drinking straw
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat on medium-high speed, scraping the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and milk and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until fully incorporated.
Divide the dough in half. Place each half between two sheets of waxed or parchment paper. Roll out each dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Refrigerate the discs (it's fine to stack them) until cold and slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or coat them with cooking spray.
Remove 1 dough from the refrigerator and lift off the top sheet of parchment paper. Use the tree cookie cutter to cut out cookies, gathering and rerolling scraps as needed to use up all the dough.
Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 11/2 inches of space between each cookie. If the cookies are too soft to move, place them (still on the bottom sheet of parchment) in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Use the straw to remove and discard 4 or 5 rounds of dough from each tree. Decorate each tree with candy decorations, pressing them gently into the surface of the cookies.
Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through, until light golden brown on the sides, about 10 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat this process with the second piece of dough. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
Makes about 30 cookies.
Associated Press