Name: Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 1 h 23 min
Yield: 18
Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients: ½ cup unsalted butter, softened; ½ cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg, room temperature; 2 cups all-purpose flour + extra for rolling; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; 1 Christmas tree cookie cutter - we used one that’s about 4 inches at its widest and 3 inches in height; ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened; 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; 1 tbsp milk; 3-4 candy canes or 8-10 peppermint candies, crushed; Yields: 15 to 18 cookies (depending on the size of your cookie cutter)

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You’ll love our Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies with Crushed Peppermint Buttercream Frosting for holiday parties and cookie swaps! They’re so soft and chewy, and the candy cane flavor is perfect for the holidays!

We love these sugar cookies because they’re festive enough for a Christmas movie night (remember Elf’s candy cane forest?!) or classy enough for a company’s Christmas party. Plus, they taste amazing!

Do you put icing on sugar cookies before or after baking?

Sugar: Cookies can be decorated with sugar before or after baking. To help the sugar stick before baking, brush each cookie with beaten egg white with a pastry brush, top with a light coating of sugar and bake. After baking, apply to sugar to wet icing or piping gel.

How do you keep sugar cookies from breaking?

Sugar cookies break when they bake if they’re rolled too thin typically. The ideal thickness to roll your dough is 1/4 inch. This will help your cookies not to break and also cook evenly.

Why did my cookies come out hard?

If your cookies are hard, you may have added too much flour. Here’s a quick guide to how to measure your flour when baking.

Baking Sugar Cookie Tips

Let your butter reach room temperature before baking. Sitting it out an hour before is a great hack.
Avoid overly mixing your dry ingredients. As soon as they’re mixed, stop stirring to help them be tender.
Chill your dough at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This makes it easier to work with.
Roll your dough 1/4 inch thick
Pull your cookie cutter straight up versus twisting it up. This helps the cookies stay tender.
Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they’ve gained some color. They should look raised and slightly crackled around the center.

What You’ll Need

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour + extra for rolling
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Christmas tree cookie cutter (ours is 4 inches at its widest and 3 inches in height)

You’ll need to make the frosting or pick up buttercream icing and candy canes at the store.

Homemade Frosting Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp milk
3-4 candy canes or 8-10 peppermint candies, crushed

How to Make Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies with Crushed Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Then add the egg and mix together.

Now mix in your flour, baking powder and salt until crumbles of a cookie dough form.

Now, you’re ready to use your hands to knead it into a cookie dough. *Note: Remember, the less you have to mix and knead, the softer the cookies will be.

Once it’s kneaded, wrap the cookie dough in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Once the time is up, remove from the refrigerator. Sprinkle a smooth working surface with flour. Add flour on a rolling pin as well.

Roll out the cookie dough so that it’s about ¼ of an inch in size (this will help the cookies not break and cook evenly).

Then it’s time to use the cookie cutter to create 15-18 Christmas trees! *Remember to push the cookie cutter in and pull straight up to keep the cookies tender.

The last steps are to line them up on a baking sheet (you will most likely have to cook in two batches – one standard baking sheet can fit about 12 cookies, comfortably), and bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing.

How to Decorate the Cookies

In a large bowl, mix together softened butter, confectioners’ sugar and milk with an electric mixer. Start on low and gradually increase to high speed.

Once the buttercream is formed, scoop into a piping bag with Wilton icing round tip #8.

Frost the cookies and use an offset spatula to smooth it out.

Sprinkle with crushed candy canes/peppermint candies.

Love this idea? We bet you’ll love our 85+ Advent Calendar Filler Ideas too!

We also love this microwave peppermint fudge recipe for the holidays!

You may also like our Christmas Crack (crockpot candy!), Keto Christmas Cookies, or Christmas brunch ideas! We also put together a list of Christmas neighbor gifts you might like!

Yield: 18