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Stacked Cookie Christmas Trees

These festive Stacked Cookie Christmas Trees feature frosted sugar cookies stacked to look like a tree. It’s a quick and easy semi-homemade dessert that’s fun for kids to make and oh-so-delicious!

Gray cake stand with Christmas tree sugar cookies with frosting and gold sprinkles.

I saw some cute stacked cookie Christmas trees while I was browsing online and knew I had to make my own version.

These cookies are impressively cute, but they don’t require a ton of work or ingredients.

And, they’re the perfect sweet to serve with Christmas dinner or for a family party.

This recipe works because it:

  • Uses shortcut ingredients like store-bought dough and frosting. This makes the recipe process so much quicker. And it’s great for a last-minute treat.
  • Doesn’t take a lot of effort to assemble, and they’ll look impressive when they’re done. Once you get the process down, you’ll have the cookies done in no time.
  • Has simple instructions so almost anyone can help. And it can double as a family Christmas activity!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Sugar cookie tree ingredients on counter including dough, frosting, and sprinkles.

Press 24 refrigerated cookie dough balls together into a ball.

Large ball of sugar cookie dough and sprinkled flour on counter.

Flour a surface and roll the dough into a single layer no thinner than 1/4-inch thick using a rolling pin.

Cut 15 cookies using a 2½-inch round cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set.

Rolled cookie dough with circles cut out and cookie cutter on dough.

Re-roll the dough and cut 15 cookies using a 2-inch round cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.

Re-roll the dough and cut 15 cookies using a 1½-inch round cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until set.

Cooked sugar cookies on baking sheet next to small dough circles on countertop.

When the cookies are done, place them on a baking rack to cool.

To assemble the stacked Christmas trees, you’ll need one size of each cookie.

Scoop 16 ounces of vanilla frosting into a piping bag with a 1M star tip.

Starting with the largest cookie size, pipe an even layer of frosting around the edge of the cookie. Repeat with the medium cookie. For the smallest cookie, pipe the frosting like you would a cupcake, ending with a small point on top.

Frosted sugar cookies on baking rack with sprinkles and unfrosted cookies nearby.

Add sprinkles to each of the cookies. Carefully stack the medium cookie on the large, and then the small cookie on the medium to create a tree shape. Add a star sprinkle to the top of the small cookie.

Small sugar cookies with swirl of frosting and gold, white, and star sprinkles on baking rack.

Repeat the process until all the cookie trees are assembled, refilling the piping bag as needed.

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

Stacked cookie Christmas trees with white frosting and gold and white sprinkles on gray cake stand.

I used store-bought ingredients to make these cookies, but feel free to make your own cookie dough and frosting if you have a favorite recipe!

The dough will be pretty sticky when you’re rolling it out so make sure you four your rolling pin and surface frequently.

You can tint the frosting green if you’d like the cookies to look more like a fir tree.

You’ll need at least 2 tubs of store-bought frosting to make these cookies. They take a lot of frosting!

If you don’t have professional piping bags, don’t worry! You can use regular plastic sandwich bags.

The same goes for the piping tips. It’s better to use any shape you have than nothing, but a regular ribbon of frosting will look fine too!

Pipe the frosting close enough to the edge of the cookie so you can see the frosting when the cookies are stacked, but not so close that you get it on your fingers when you pick up the cookies.

You can use any kind of sprinkles you like. But, if you want to keep with the Christmas theme, use a sprinkle mix that includes stars to top each of the trees and pearl-shaped sprinkles to represent tree ornaments.

If you notice that the trees don’t have enough sprinkles once you’ve stacked them, you can press some more onto the exposed frosting.

The frosting may get soft as you’re decorating the other cookies. You can store the finished trees on a tray in the refrigerator so they stay cold and don’t lose their shape.

More Like This

Five Christmas sugar cookies shaped like trees on gray cake stand.

Looking for more cookie recipes? You’ll love these!

FAQs

Cake stand with 4 Christmas cookie trees and others placed on the table.
How can I make these without circle cookie cutters?


If you don’t have circle cookie cutters, you can use different-sized mason jar rims or cups with large, medium, and small openings. Try to pick cup/jar sizes that are 1½, 2, and 2½ inches so they match the sizes of the cookies in the recipe.

Alternatively, you can scoop dough balls that are 1 teaspoon, 2 teaspoons, and 3 teaspoons in size.

I hope your family loves these stacked cookie Christmas trees! If you make them, take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!

 

And if you’d like to get a 4-week meal plan featuring my recipes, just enter your email in the form above and you’ll get it straight to your inbox!

Stacked cookie Christmas trees with white frosting and gold and white sprinkles on gray cake stand.

Stacked Cookie Christmas Trees

The Ashcroft Family Table
These festive Stacked Cookie Christmas Trees feature frosted sugar cookies stacked to look like a tree. It's a quick and easy semi-homemade dessert that's fun for kids to make and oh-so-delicious!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Decorating Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Servings 15 trees
Calories 381 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 24 unbaked refrigerated sugar cookies, 16 ounces
  • 32 ounces vanilla frosting, 2 tubs
  • white pearl sprinkles
  • gold sanding sugar
  • 15 gold star sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Press the refrigerated cookie dough balls together into a ball.
  • Flour a surface and roll the dough into a single layer no thinner than 1/4-inch thick using a rolling pin.
  • Cut 15 cookies using a 2½-inch round cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set.
  • Re-roll the dough and cut 15 cookies using a 2-inch round cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.
  • Re-roll the dough and cut 15 cookies using a 1½-inch round cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until set.
  • When the cookies are done, place them on a baking rack to cool.
  • Scoop 16 ounces of vanilla frosting into a piping bag with a 1M star tip.
  • Starting with the largest cookie size, pipe an even layer of frosting around the edge of the cookie. Repeat with the medium cookie. For the smallest cookie, pipe the frosting like you would a cupcake, ending with a small point on top.
  • Add sprinkles to each of the cookies. Carefully stack the medium cookie on the large, and then the small cookie on the medium to create a tree shape. Add a star sprinkle to the top of the small cookie.
  • Repeat the process until all the cookie trees are assembled, refilling the piping bag as needed.

Video

Notes

If you notice that the trees don’t have enough sprinkles once you’ve stacked them, you can press some more onto the exposed frosting.
The frosting may get soft as you’re decorating the other cookies. You can store the finished trees on a tray in the refrigerator so they stay cold and don’t lose their shape.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tree | Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 21mg | Sugar: 49g | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Keyword christmas tree sugar cookies, stacked cookie christmas trees
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5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)
Recipe Rating