Cake and cookie designer Ally Plummer shares her recipe for sugar cookies today that’s perfect for a Valentine treat.

To add elegance to sugar cookies, frost and monogram with your Valentine’s initial. This is a wonderful gift idea for neighbors.  Attach a note that says, “We are blessed to have you as neighbors.”

2/3 cup shortening, 3/4 cup sugar, 6 ounces butter at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks), 1 egg, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 3 1/2 cups flour

Mix dough and chill in fridge for at least two hours. Roll dough to a 1/4″ thickness with a floured rolling pin. Use cookie cutters of choice. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.

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1 6 oz. bag chocolate chips

1 6 oz. bag butterschotch chips

1- 12 oz. bag of chow mein noodles

1 cup peanuts (optional)

Melt chips together, add chow mein noodles, and heap on wax paper until hardened.

Last year I tried something new. I wanted something fun for an extended family Christmas gathering that would be different from the normal fruitcake, chocolate balls, shortbread and tarts. A friend of mine told me about something she’d seen called a Christmas Cookie Tree. I did a little ‘googling’ and got fairly giddy about making a few for the gathering as an edible centerpiece. It went over exceptionally well and I ended up making a few more for other Christmas events we had.

It is quite easy. You can pick up a set of Star cookie cutters in 10 sizes at bakeries, cake decorating shops or,  if you are energetic, you can make patterns on paper and then cut out the cookies with a knife around the edges. You can also find them here.

Make a double batch of your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Cut out two of each size. Bake them with the smallest sizes on one cookie sheet and the larger ones on another one to have more even baking.

Cool them completely. While they cool, prepare your ‘foundation’. I covered a cutting board and a cookie sheet with foil as my base. Mix up your icing (icing sugar and water with butter optional). Put ¼ cup of the icing in a separate bowl. Tint the remaining icing a bright green.

When the cookies are cool, put a dab of icing on the base where you would like to plant your tree. Then starting with the largest cookie, cover it in green icing. It does not need to be perfect, most of it will be covered! Place the iced cookie on the ‘planting spot’. Then ice the same-sized cookie, placing it on top of the other green star, but turn just slightly so that the points of the stars do not line up.

Continue in this pattern from largest to smallest. When you have one star left, ice it with the white icing and cover it in yellow sprinkles, or tint a tsp. of the icing yellow and ice the last tiniest star. Place it on the top of the tree on its side.

With the remaining white icing, decorate the base by making ‘snow drifts’. Sprinkle icing sugar over the tree and base carefully making it look like it is covered with freshly fallen snow. If you would like, you can buy tiny colored decorating balls to place in the wet icing to look like ornaments.

If you prefer less icing, do not ice the cookies before stacking, simply put a small dab of white icing in the center of each cookie as you stack them so that they stick together. Then sprinkle with green sugar, or pipe green icing on as desired, or ice them entirely with white icing instead of green to give it a ‘heavily laden with snow’ look. Another option is to color your cookies green before baking, then simply powder them with icing sugar.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap so the cookies don’t dry out. Allow it to set before transporting. This freezes well, although it will need to be removed from the base.

Rice Krispie Christmas Tree, photo courtesy of Carla Coroy

I have also made this with Rice Krispie Squares cut into stars. To do this, press out the freshly made mixture onto a large working surface (cutting board or cookie sheet you can cut on). Press it as thin as you possibly can. Cut out the star shapes, then set aside until they are firm. Then assemble as you would the sugar cookie tree.

Enjoy your tree! Be prepared to force your guests to take apart the tree, they won’t want to ‘ruin’ your masterpiece!

This post is part of the Virtual Advent 2009 Blog Tour.

Here are two simple Christmas cookie recipes you can make in a snap!  Either of these would be wonderful to take to a Cookie Exchange party.

Microwave Divinity
2 ½ cups sugar
½ cups water
2 egg whites
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cups light corn syrup
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a microwave safe 3 quart container combine sugar, syrup, water and salt. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir and microwave again for 8 to 10 minutes or until syrup when dropped into cool water makes a hard ball. While mixture is cooking beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly pour syrup mixture over egg whites beating with mixer on high speed. Add vanilla while continuing to mix. Continue beating until mixture holds its shape and starts to lose its gloss. (app. 4 or 5 minutes) Fold in pecans by hand. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper. Makes about 1 ¼ pounds of candy.
*Recipe will not work on a wet day because it is moisture sensitive.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

1 stick margarine
1 box confectioner sugar
2 cups peanut butter
3 cups krispy rice cereal
1/3 block paraffin wax
6 oz. chocolate chips
1 large Hershey candy bar

Melt margarine and mix well with sugar, peanut butter and cereal. Form into balls 1 inch in diameter. Refrigerate over night.
In a double boiler melt paraffin, chocolate chips and candy bar. Dip balls and place on wax paper to dry.

First layer: 1 cup sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Second layer: 1 cup old-fashioned oats
Third layer: 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
Fourth layer: 2/3 cup each of milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

On the recipe card: 1 cup softened butter or margarine, 1 cup peanut butter, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, and peanut butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Stir in contents of cookie mix. Empty container into mix and stir until well mixed. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks. Yield: 4 1/2 dozen.

Loi Palmer
1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup oil, 1 cup shortening, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring, 4 cups unsifted flour, 3 teaspoons cream of tarter, 1 teaspoon salt, 12 oz package chocolate chips, 1 cup nuts.

Mix well: sugar, oil, shortening, eggs, vanilla, almond flavoring. Blend in dry ingredients along with the chocolate chips and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees on ungreased cookie sheets 10 to 12 minutes. Cool a couple of minutes before removing from the cookie sheet. Makes 3 dozen large cookies or 5 dozen small cookies.

Vicki Huffman, from December 2005 MMCW
1 cup butter, 1 packed cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup finely chopped pecans, 2 and 2/3 cups sifted flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 large or jumbo eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Work in dry ingredients a little at a time. Add nuts and vanilla. With your hands, work dough into rolls about the diameter of a 50 cent piece. Dough will make 5 or 6 rolls. Wrap rolls in wax paper and refrigerate until chilled before slicing and baking. Or freeze rolls (wrapped in wax paper and aluminum foil).

When ready to bake, slice evenly no more than 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 350 degrees on lightly greased cookie sheet until cookies are golden. Baking time will depend on thickness of slices and whether chilled or frozen but should be approximately 10 to 15 minutes. After baking, let cookies sit one minute. Lift off baking sheet with spatula onto wire racks to cool. Cool completely before packaging in airtight containers.