Renaissance Trophy Wife

So the holidays are over, but I wanted to share some of what I got up to during my holiday blogging hiatus.  These favors are really cute and easy to make!  We went to a dinner party on Christmas Eve and I made a dozen favors; half gingerbread and half sugar.  People loved them, and they look like a lot more work than they really are.  They don’t have to be Christmas trees, either– if you have a nature or tree themed party these would also be great favors.

Really, they’re quite easy–

You only need 3 things:  cookie dough, toothpicks, and spacers.  I used dried cranberries, but you could also use raisins, gumdrops or other soft fruit/candy.  If you don’t have spacers, you can make the tree taller by baking 2 cookies in each size and using 10 stars instead of 5 for each tree.

Make 1/2 recipe cutout sugar cookie dough (mine is below), and 1/2 recipe gingerbread cookie dough.  Or you could just make it easy on yourself and do one whole recipe…  the sugar cookie dough freezes quite well if you want to make a large batch and just bake half.

Roll  out the dough to 1/4 inch thick, and cut out using nested star cookie cutters.  Bake as recommended.

I used about 2/3 of each (1/2) recipe for the stars, and then got lazy and made round cookies with the remaining dough.  I’d say you can get about 8-9 trees made with 5 star shapes each, depending on how thick you make the cookies and how big your cookie cutters are.

When the cookies are still warm, use a toothpick to poke a hole through the middle of each one.  You’ll thank yourself later!  It’s much easier to do this before they’ve cooled.

Decorate the cookies however you want– I was lazy and used confectioner’s sugar post-assembly to make the trees “snowy”.   To go colorful with your holiday treats, confectioner’s sugar + a very small amount of milk + a couple drops of food coloring = quick and easy frosting.

After cookies are ready to assemble, insert a toothpick into the hole in the middle of the largest star.  Thread 2-3 dried cranberries or a gumdrop onto the toothpick, then add the next largest star cookie.  Repeat until all the cookies are threaded.

Wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon; try not to eat them too fast!

And as promised, here’s the recipe:

Cutout Sugar Cookies
makes 8 to 12 dozen, depending on size

3 cups butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
6 ounces cream cheese (3/4 of a standard cream cheese package)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
9 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until golden. Add the cream cheese and beat until well incorporated. Add the flavorings and lemon zest.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl then add in small quantities to the butter/sugar mixture.

Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour; preferably overnight.

Heat the oven to 350° F. Divide the dough and roll out between waxed or parchment paper 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness.  If you’re like me and don’t have a rolling pin, use a wine bottle!

Cut out cookies and transfer to baking sheet about 1 inch apart.  Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness and size.

Let cool before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.