Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies

This gingerbread Christmas tree cookies recipe is perfect for the holidays! They’re festive, delicious, and easy to make.

Do you ever feel like the holiday season just isn’t complete without baking a batch of delicious Christmas cookies? Well, here’s a cookie recipe that’s sure to be a standout this year!

My Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies have all those classic gingerbread flavors, plus a fun wintery tree shape that will add some whimsy and cheer to your holiday treats. Perfect for gifting or munching on during family movie nights, these easy-to-make cookies come together in no time!

So let’s get ready to bake up some yummy memories this cheerful festive season with my Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies!

Why you will Love this Gingerbread Recipe

• Easy to make
• Candy melts make decorating easy!
• Colourful and festive!
• Crisp outside and chewy inside.
• Perfectly spiced
• Cut-out cookies – you can make gingerbread men instead!
• Perfect for decorating a gingerbread house, topping cakes and cupcakes
• Gorgeous on any holiday cookie plate

Tips for Making the Best Gingerbread Cookies

• Use room temperature ingredients to make sure the dough combines well.
• Make sure you sift the flour if it is lumpy.
• Carefully spoon and level your flour – don’t pack it!
• Only just combine the batter, do not over-mix.
• Bake the cookies until the edges of the cookies are firm when touched. If you bake longer they will be more crisp.
• Smaller cookies will bake more on the 8 minute side, larger cookies will be closer to 10 minutes.
• Don’t forget to rotate the pan halfway through baking so that your cookies bake evenly!
• If you are unsure of the best baking time for your oven, use your first batch in the oven as a test. Allow them to cool and taste them! Too crisp? Bake the next batch for less time. Too soft? Bake the next batch longer. This can vary oven to oven and depends on how thick you have rolled out your dough, and on the size of your cookie cutter.
• If your candy melts seize up or don’t get loose enough to decorate the cookies you can fix it with a little vegetable shortening mixed in. (Don’t use anything else.)

How to Store Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies store well at room temperature in an airtight container – up to 3 weeks even! Decorated cookies that have been decorated with candy melts may not last as long.

You can also freeze the cookies for up to 6 months if they are wrapped well and stored in a freezer bag.

Unbaked cookie dough discs freeze well too for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, thaw out overnight in the fridge, and continue to follow the recipe.

Equipment Needed to Make Gingerbread Cookies

You will want to use an electric stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make these cookies as the dough gets quite sticky,

You will also need a baking sheet and large cooling rack, you may also want to prevent waste by using a silicone liner instead of parchment paper.

You will, of course, need Christmas tree cookie cutters.

About the Ingredients for Gingerbread Cookies

Molasses – Use only fancy molasses.

Egg – Make sure your egg is room temperature.

Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract is best, but artificial is OK too.

Flour – Spoon and level the flour, never pack it when baking. If your flour is lumpy, sift it in.

Baking soda – Make sure your baking soda is either fresh or at least still active so that the cookies rise.

Salt – Makes all the flavours come together and really shine.

Spices – We use a combination of ginger, cinnamon and cloves. You can swap all-spice for the cloves if that is all you have on hand.

Looking for More Fun & Festive Christmas Cookies?

Check out some of my favourite Christmas cookie recipes!

How to Make Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies

Yield: 24 Cookies | Prep Time: 3.5 hours | Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup Fancy molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 cup green candy melts
Sprinkles

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices until combined. Set aside the flour mixture.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy.

Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla with the electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes.

Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients at low speed until well combined. The dough should be thick and slightly sticky.

Divide dough in half and wrap dough in plastic wrap tightly, shaping it into a flattened disc.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before baking or up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.

Flour your work surface, hands and rolling pin.

Roll out one of the discs of dough until you have a sheet of dough about 1/4 inch thick.

Use a Christmas Tree cookie cutter to cut out the shapes from the dough.

Place the shapes on the prepared baking sheet.

Re-roll scraps of dough until you have none left.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes, rotating your pan halfway through.

Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet.

Transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.

Pour candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until candy is completely melted.

Scoop melted candy into a piping bag and working in back and forth motions, adding some strips of melted candy on each cookie. Garnish with sprinkles and allow to set.

Enjoy your finished cookies!