Gingerbread Tree

Remember 5 years ago, when I made cookie cutter gingerbread cookies? If not, you should go look. My girls were, well, 5 years younger, and the photos of them then melt my heart. We’ve been making those gingerbread cookies every year since, and it’s one of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Can you believe Christmas is 9 days away?! I wish it was a month away, at least. And I wish it got dark at like noon, so we could enjoy the Christmas lights and the fire for longer. Plus eggnog, Christmas movies, Italian Fig Cookies, stockings, pinecones, carols, SO much love. Are you feelin’ the love? Oh man, I am. It’s overflowing.

And can you believe how freezing it’s been here in Southern California? If you don’t live here, let me tell ya, it’s been fa-reezing. We brought in our orange tree to protect it from the frost. THAT’s how cold it is. NOT that I’m complaining. Today was positively lovely. We could see our breath outside early this morning. Ashley had horseback riding out in the sunshine and everyone was in jackets or sweaters. Ginger wore footy pajamas all day long. We drank all the hot things. Lovely.

Well, as they say, “On with the recipe!” Okay, no one really says that, but here ya go 🙂

Gingerbread Cookies

NOTE: this recipe will NOT work to make a gingerbread house

Special Equipment:
Gingerbread Tree Cookie Cutters (I found this at my Michaels craft store)

6 tablespoons flax meal
1 tsp guar gum
OR 2/3 cup flax meal and NO gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
4 teaspoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ginger
2 cups almond flour
1 cup coconut flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup coconut sugar*

1 cup applesauce, without added sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil or ghee, melted

*I doubled the coconut sugar from the original recipe to give the cookies more structure, so they could hold up to being stacked like this.

1. Set the oven to 325F. Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and combine with an electric mixer to form the dough.
2. Set about 1/3 of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Place another sheet of paper on top. Roll the dough between the sheets to about 1/4 inch thickness. Press the two largest star cookie cutters into the dough, then remove the dough surrounding them. Use the paper to lift the cut dough onto a baking sheet. (They are too large to transfer with a spatula.) Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly darker. Allow them to cool completely before carefully taking them off the sheet.
3. Roll out more dough as before. Continue using the paper to lift the large pieces onto a baking sheet. A spatula can be used to move the smaller pieces onto an already lined sheet. Smaller pieces will take closer to 15 minutes to bake.
4. When all of the cookies have cooled completely they can be used right away OR stacked with parchment paper between them (so they don’t stick to one another), placed inside a ziplock and frozen for up to a week before building the tree.
5. There will be leftover dough. You can use it to make other cookie cutter shapes, like angels or hearts, or refrigerate the leftover dough for up to 5 days. (Let it come to room temperature before rolling the dough.) We baked ours right away because it was torture not being able to eat the gingerbread tree cookies 🙂

Frosting

NOTE: This frosting had to be strong enough to support the weight of the cookie tree, therefore it has way more sugar in it than I would normally use.

1 cup palm shortening, from a sustainable source
2 cups powdered xylitol, maple sugar, or unbleached cane sugar
1 tablespoon water

1. Add the ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine with an electric mixer.

Building the Gingerbread Tree

1. Trim 1/2 inch off the piping bag that came with the kit and add the leaf tip.
2. Add the frosting to the bag and twist.
3. Pipe a quarter sized amount onto the middle of a cake plate. (This will help hold your tree to the plate, and reduce the odds of it sliding off accidentally.) Lay the largest star on top.
4. 
   Next pipe a ring about an inch tall to support the next cookie. This is what gives the tree it’s height.
5. Lay the next largest cookie on top of the ring so that the points do NOT line up. Here comes the fun part: Pipe UNDER that cookie you just laid down, just slightly, to give it more support and to create the snowy pine boughs. I piped 3 per point, as seen here.
6. Finally pipe the next ring, one inch tall, before adding the next cookie. Again the points should NOT line up. Pipe under the cookie as before to add support and design.
7. Continue building the tree this way. Save the smallest star to frost and prop upright in frosting.
8. I would refrigerate the tree overnight if it isn’t eaten the day it’s made. The tree can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 days if you want to make it ahead.

Merry Christmas!!!

♥, Kelly

P.S. In case you missed it, I created a Spunky Costco Shopping Guide for you!