This Santa Christmas tree cookie recipe is the easiest way to bake cookies that are very popular with young children. This one uses a gingerbread cookie recipe that’s quick, easy, and fun to make.
Celebrate the holiday season with a whimsical twist on classic Christmas cookies: Gingerbread Flavored Cone Cookies Frosted Like Christmas Trees. These charming treats combine the warm, spiced flavors of gingerbread with the delightful shape of a Christmas tree. Each cone cookie is carefully crafted to capture the essence of the holidays, featuring the perfect blend of ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for that quintessential festive taste.
The real magic happens with the decoration. These gingerbread cone cookies are frosted with a rich, creamy icing, meticulously applied to resemble a beautifully adorned Christmas tree. Green frosting serves as the lush evergreen branches, while colorful sprinkles and edible pearls mimic twinkling ornaments. A delicate dusting of powdered sugar adds a snowy touch, making these cookies as visually enchanting as they are delicious.
Perfect for holiday gatherings, cookie exchanges, or simply adding a touch of festive cheer to your dessert table, these gingerbread cone cookies are sure to be a hit. Enjoy them with a mug of hot cocoa or mulled cider for a cozy and delightful holiday treat that captures the spirit of Christmas in every bite.
Why make these cookies
- This recipe is simple and easy. It takes less than 10 minutes to prep this gingerbread cookie dough.
- The cookies are soft, sweet, and delicious, with the warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
- In fact, they are the best Santa’s Christmas cookies during the holiday season, don’t you think?
- I am using an electric mixer (hand mixer), but a large bowl with a whisk and spatula works just fine too.
- And most of the ingredients are pantry staples plus molasses, which you can use in so many other cookies, such as molasses cookies, gingerbread bars, and gingerbread sugar cookies.
- Today, I am using a gingerbread recipe, but you can also try other cookie recipes, such as shortbread cookie dough, sugar cookie dough, and chocolate sugar cookies. I like to use my vanilla sugar cookies with almond extract and rose extract.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in the recipe. Having said that, if salted butter is all you have, use it and omit salt in the recipe. And make sure the butter is at soft room temperature, not melted.
- Brown sugar – The molasses in the brown sugar contributes to the soft texture. And, you can also add light brown sugar as well, but the cookies will also get lighter in color.
- Molasses – Is a rich, dark, thick brown, slightly sweet syrup left after the sugar has been removed from the juice. And, you can find it in the baking aisle or baking supply store. Look for unsulphured variety.
- Spices – I’ve used the classic ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. However, you can also use a gingerbread spice mix or a pumpkin spice mix.
- Decorations – I am using a variety of sprinkles and dragees. You can also use Christmas Green and red sprinkles. Colorful dragees or M&Ms represent Christmas lights beautifully, too.
- Frosting – I am making a simple, quick, and easy vanilla frosting with just confectioners’ sugar and milk. But you can also make royal icing in a medium bowl and whisk with meringue powder, powdered sugar, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
How to make Santa’s Christmas tree cookies
Gingerbread cookie dough
- Dry ingredients – In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices – cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Dough – In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the molasses and egg. Followed by flour mixture, orange, and vanilla extract. Combine well.
- Chill dough – Divide the dough into two, wrap in plastic, and let chill until firm enough to roll – about 2 hours or overnight.
Shape the cookies
- Roll – Roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Next, roll into a long rectangle about 3 inches in height. Then, using a sharp knife, cut at an angle to create the long triangle shapes similar to a Christmas tree (as shown in the video). Or you can use a Christmas tree cookie cutter, too!
- Chill cookies – Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Leave a little gap between them for air circulation. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
Bake and Frost cookies
- Preheat the oven at 177°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4
- Bake the Christmas tree cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.
- Cool – Once baked, cool them on the cookie sheet for 10 mins. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Icing for cookies – Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until you have a smooth, thick piping consistency.
- Frost the cookies – Color half the icing with garden green gel food colors. Then, add the white and green icing to two separate piping bags with a small star piping tip. Pipe diagonal lines on the triangle cookies as shown in the video and top with colorful sprinkles.
- Storage – Let the icing dry properly before you stack the cookies and store them in an airtight container or cookie jar.
Tips for success
- Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar can cream until light and fluffy.
- Rest the dough before rolling the cookies. Resting helps the butter firm up again, which makes it easier to work and prevents spreading
- And if the rolled cookie dough is soft, put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilled cookie dough will give well-defined shapes, so you won’t have to struggle with them being so soft.
- Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes, making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will spread the cookies.
- Place cut cookies in the fridge while the oven is preheating to prevent them from spreading.
- When baked, leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. This will prevent them from sweating on the bottom.
- Christmas Cake Wreath
- Christmas M&M Cookies
- And Christmas Star Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies Recipe or Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies or Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Christmas Pavlova or Cranberry Cake Christmas
- See all Christmas recipes
Frequently asked questions
These will stay fresh for a week. Place the cookies in an airtight container to prevent them from becoming soft.
To prevent spreading, make sure your dough is properly chilled before rolling it out. Also, don’t skip the step of refrigerating the cut-out shapes on the baking sheet before baking. This helps the cookies hold their shape.
Yes, you can make gingerbread dough in advance. After preparing the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour, or even overnight. This allows the flavors to develop, and it makes the dough easier to handle.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of around 1/4 inch (0.6 cm). This thickness will give you sturdy cookies that hold their shape.
Royal icing is commonly used for decorating gingerbread cookies. To make it, combine powdered sugar, egg whites or meringue powder, and a small amount of water. Beat until the icing reaches a smooth and thick consistency. You can adjust the thickness by adding more water or powdered sugar as needed.
Store your Xmas tree cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them fresh. You can also place a piece of bread in the container to help maintain their moisture. They can last for up to a few weeks when stored properly.
Yes, you can freeze gingerbread cookies. Layer them between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container or freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them at room temperature when you’re ready to enjoy them.
Yes, there are gluten-free and vegan gingerbread recipes available. You can substitute gluten-free flour for regular flour and use vegan butter or coconut oil for dairy butter. For egg replacements, you can use flax eggs or commercial egg replacers.
Orange – Orange is a good flavor that blends well with ginger and cinnamon.
Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves – A good blend of spices, but you can go less or more. If you don’t like too much cinnamon, you can reduce it to one teaspoon of cinnamon.
Spice mixes – try gingerbread spice, pumpkin spice, chai spice for a different flavor.
Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies Recipe
This Santa Christmas tree cookie recipe is the easiest way to bake cookies that are very popular with young children. This one uses a gingerbread cookie recipe that's quick, easy, and fun to make
Video
Ingredients
- 3½ cups (435 g) All-purpose flour
- 10 tbsp (140 g) Butter unsalted, room temperature
- ¾ cup (165 g) Dark brown sugar packed
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) Molasses light or dark
- 1 large Egg
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder
- ½ tsp Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg freshly grated
- ¼ tsp Orange extract (or 1 tsp orange zest)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 4 cups (480 g) Powdered sugar
- 6 tbsp (90 ml) Milk
- ¼ tsp Vanilla extract
Method
- Dry ingredients – In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices – cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg.3½ cups All-purpose flour , ½ tsp Baking soda, ½ tsp Baking powder, ½ tsp Salt, 1 tbsp Ground Ginger, 1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder, ½ tsp Ground Cloves, ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- Dough – In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg. Followed by flour mixture, orange, and vanilla extract. Combine well.10 tbsp Butter, ¾ cup Dark brown sugar, ⅔ cup Molasses, 1 large Egg , ¼ tsp Orange extract, 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Chill dough – Divide the dough into two, wrap in plastic, and let chill until firm enough to roll – about 2 hours or overnight.
- Roll – Roll the dough on a lightly flowered work surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Roll into a long rectangle about 3 inches in height. Then, using a sharp knife cut at an angle to create the long triangle shapes similar to a Christmas tree (as shown in the video). Or, you can use a Christmas tree cookie cutter too!
- Chill cookies – Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Leaving a little gap between them for air circulation. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 177°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4
- Bake the Christmas tree cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.
- Cool – Once baked, cool them on the cookie sheet for 10 mins. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Icing for cookies – Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until you have a smooth, thick piping consistency.4 cups Powdered sugar, 6 tbsp Milk, ¼ tsp Vanilla extract
- Frost the cookies – Color half the icing with garden green gel food colors. Add the white and green icing to two separate piping bags with a small star piping tip. Pipe diagonal lines on the triangle cookies as shown in the video and top with colorful sprinkles.
- Storage – Let the icing dry properly before you stack the cookies and store them in an airtight container or cookie jar.
Notes
- Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar can cream until light and fluffy.
- Rest the dough before rolling the cookies. Resting helps the butter firm up again which makes it easier to work and prevents spreading
- If the rolled cookie dough is soft, put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chilled cookie dough will give well-defined shapes so you won’t have to struggle with them being so soft.
- Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will spread the cookies.
- Place cut cookies in the fridge while the oven is preheating to prevent them from spreading.
- When baked leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. This will prevent them from sweating on the bottom.
Bake Ahead and Freezing Instructions
- Dough – You can freeze the dough for 3 months wrapped well in a ziplock bag. Then, thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
- Rolled cookies – And, you can also freeze the rolled cookies on a cookie sheet between parchment papers. In addition, wrap the tray in plastic to prevent drying out. They will stay for up to a month.
- Baked cookies – Alternatively, freeze the baked cookies between parchment papers for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
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Hi, I’m Veena
I’m the recipe developer, baker, and food photographer behind Veena Azmanov Kitchen.
I’ve spent years developing and testing recipes, from everyday meals and homemade breads to cakes and desserts.
I share the practical tips and little details I’ve learned along the way so you can get great results in your own kitchen.
These cookies look super festive and are definitely a recipe that the kids will enjoy. Thanks for sharing!
Lovely gingerbread cookie recipe. I appreciate all the detailed instructions and tips for the best results. Tried them at home and turned out really good.
Thank you for the lovely feedback, Adriana. Happy you enjoyed these
Love how festive these treats are! The kids love making them and so that’s a win in my book!
This is an amazing looking recipe that I bet my husband would love!! Thanks for the specific instructions and information! Happy Holidays!
My kids just loved these are so fun. They are so fun and TASTY!! That’s definitely a win. We’re going to make them again next weekend to share with some friends and family.
Thank you, Jessica. So, happy to hear your lovely feedback,
These turned out amazing and I loved the use of orange zest, it gave the cookies such a wonderful flavor!
They sure do, Aya. Thanks for the lovely feedback.
So adorable and delicious! My little boy loved helping me make these and we found it pretty easy overall, and the perfect amount of crunchiness and flavor. Thanks for a great recipe!
My kids love helping with these cookies too. These are her favorite.
Oh my gosh, you’ve totally motivated me to make Christmas cookies to decorate this year. I love how yours look. I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for all the tips in making them.
Oh my gosh, you’ve totally motivated me to make Christmas cookies to decorate this year. I love what yours look like, and love all your tips!! Thank you!!