Ideal to prepare with the children a few days before the Christmas holidays, you can use these shortbread cookies to make name tags, centerpieces, table gifts... In short, anything is possible.
Ingredients (for approximately 8 trees)
- 350 g of flour,
- 125 g + 250 g icing sugar,
- 1 lemon (zest + juice),
- 1 egg,
- 250 g of softened soft butter,
- 1 pinch of salt.
For decoration
Sugar pearls, sugar sprinkles, edible glitter, icing….
Preparation
- In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, icing sugar (125 g) and a pinch of salt.
- Make a well and add the egg, butter in small pieces and lemon zest.
- Mix by hand until you get a smooth dough.
- Form a ball, flatten it, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate (2 hours in the fridge or 1/2 hour in the freezer).
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- Flour your work surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut it out using star-shaped cookie cutters of various sizes to create your Christmas trees. To make one tree, you'll need two large stars, two medium stars, and two small stars.
- Place the shortbread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Bake for about ten minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Remove them and let them cool on a wire rack.
- In a bowl, gradually add the remaining icing sugar and lemon juice until you get the consistency of a thick, white paste.
- Start assembling the trees by taking 2 large stars for the first 2 levels, then 2 more medium-sized, then 2 more small-sized.
- Glue them together with a little icing. Place them with the star branches in between.
- Once the assembly is finished, cover them with a little icing, using a piping bag, to imitate snow, and without waiting, stick on the sugar pearls.
- When the icing is set, everything will be glued together. Let them dry and harden at room temperature.
You can store them in an airtight container for a few days. Do not place them in a humid place or the icing may melt.
