First off, let me say that both the recipe for these chocolate-dipped Christmas tree cookies and the decorating bit are beginner-friendly. Even if you've never decorated a cookie in your life, you'll have no problem decorating these. The cookie recipe uses a blend of Christmas spices and one unexpected ingredient. Then, they are dipped in white chocolate and decorated with chopped pistachios and freeze-dried Raspberries. They look impressive but are very easy to make. If you follow both tutorials to the letter, your Christmas cookies will turn out exactly like mine.
Your family and friends will love to receive these Christmas tree cookies as handmade Christmas gifts – that's if you can bear to give them away in the first place!
The inspiration for these chocolate-dipped Christmas tree cookies came from the post 'How to make Christmas cookies with an embossed rolling pin'. I've adapted the cookie dough recipe from that post slightly to make these Christmas cookies.
Christmas cookie blog hop
I've teamed up with some of my lovely blogger friends for a Christmas cookie blog hop. Thanks to Kippie of Kippi at home for organising the hop.
Don't forget to visit all of my friends to get their family's favourite Christmas cookie recipes. Find the photos and links at the bottom of this post.
Save it for later!
Table of contents
- Christmas cookie blog hop
- Save it for later!
- Baking Christmas tree cookies
- Ingredients for the cookie dough
- Ingredients for decorating
- Shop the post
- Instructions for baking
- Instructions for decorating
- Equipment
- Top tips
- Watch it on YouTube
- 📖 Recipe
- These posts are good too!
- More Christmas cookie ideas
- Sign up to our newsletter
Baking Christmas tree cookies
Ingredients for the cookie dough
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioner’s (icing) sugar
- 1 Egg (at room temperature)
- A pinch of salt
- All-purpose flour
- Tablespoon Spekulatius spice mixture
- or
- ½ Teaspoon mixed spice (Allspice), ½ Teaspoon cinnamon.
Ingredients for decorating
White couverture chocolate (or good quality Chocolate)
Pistachios (chopped)
Raspberries (freeze-dried)
Shop the post
Instructions for baking
Step one - Cream together the butter and sugar. The mixture is ready when it looks smooth, pale and creamy.
Step two - Add an egg to the mix and blend it in well.
Step three - Sift in the flour, salt and spices and mix until the mixture comes together as a dough.
Step four – Form a ball with the dough mixture, flatten it with your hands and cut it in half. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least twenty minutes.
Step five – Flour your surface and roll out one piece of your dough at a time with a rolling pin.
Step six – Use a Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out Christmas trees around one centimetre thick (ten millimetres).
Step seven – Bake (see recipe below). Allow to cool down.
Hint: If you are short on time, you can chill the dough in the freezer for ten minutes instead.
Make the dough ahead of time – store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to two days. Freeze for up to three months.
Instructions for decorating
Step one - Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a double boiler or bain-marie. (see my top tips below). Stir the chocolate until smooth.
Step two – Once the chocolate has cooled a little, dip one side of the cookies into the melted white chocolate, then place them on a sheet of parchment (baking) paper.
Step three – make swirls in the chocolate with the back of a spoon.
Step four – hold a small cutting board over the middle of the Christmas cookies and sprinkle some chopped pistachios and dried raspberries onto one side.
Step five – allow the cookies to set
Step five - Enjoy!
Equipment
Double boiler (this one is specifically for melting chocolate) or
Heat-proof bowl and
Large saucepan
Spoon (for stirring and swirling)
Top tips
If you own a double boiler, I recommend that you use it for melting the chocolate.
If like me, you don't own a double boiler, you can use a heat-proof bowl with handles over the top of a large saucepan instead.
Don't let the glass bowl touch the bottom of the saucepan. If it does your chocolate may burn.
The water in the saucepan should just touch the bottom of the heat-proof bowl.
Once the water in the saucepan has come to a mild simmer, turn off the heat and allow the chocolate to melt.
Watch it on YouTube
If you'd prefer to watch a video of the decorating part, I have a short video on YouTube showing you just that! You can see it here:
Decorating Chocolate-dipped Christmas tree cookies
Will you make these delicious chocolate-dipped Christmas tree cookies this year?
You can find an even easier way to decorate Christmas cookies in this post.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate-dipped Christmas tree cookies
These chocolate-dipped Christmas tree cookies decorated with white chocolate, pistachios and freeze-dried raspberries look impressive but are very easy to make.
Ingredients
- 200 grams (7 ounces) unsalted butter
- 150 grams (5 ounces) Confectioner’s (icing) sugar
- 1 Egg (at room temperature)
- A pinch of salt
- 400 grams (14 ounces) All-purpose white flour.
- 1 Tablespoon Spekulatius spice mixture
- or
- ½ Teaspoon mixed spice, ½ Teaspoon cinnamon.
- 11 ounces (312 grams) White melting chocolate (or good quality Chocolate)
- 63 grams (2 ounces) Pistachios (chopped)
- 35 gram (1 ounce) freeze-dried Raspberries (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C // 392F
- Cream the butter with the sugar until pale and creamy.
- Add the egg and mix well.
- Sift together the flour, salt and spices, add to wet mixture until well incorporated.
- Once the mixture has formed a dough, flatten it with your hands, cut in half and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the pastry halves with a rolling pin to around 1cm/10mm thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut the cookies into shapes.
- Bake cookies at 200C (392F) for 7-8 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before decorating.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a double boiler or bain-marie.
- Once the chocolate has cooled a little, dip one side of the cookies into the melted white chocolate, then place them on some parchment (baking) paper.
- Make swirls in the chocolate with the back of a spoon.
- Hold a small cutting board over the middle of the Christmas cookies and sprinkle some chopped pistachios and dried raspberries onto one side.
- Allow the cookies to set.
- Enjoy while fresh. Store in an air-tight container for up to three days.
Notes
Depending on your oven, your cookies may bake more quickly/slowly than mine did. Keep a close eye on them and remove when they start to go slightly brown on the edges.
Exchange the spices for vanailla esscence or any other essence of choice to enjoy this cookie mix all year round.
Recommended Products
For your convenience, this website contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission. You pay the same price whether you use my link or not. Thanks so much for your support of Chalking Up Success! Please read my full disclosure (See link at the bottom of my blog homepage).
These posts are good too!
More Christmas cookie ideas
Here are some more delicious Christmas cookie ideas from some of my lovely blogger friends.
Kippi @ Kippi at home: This Chocolate No Bake Cookie Recipe makes a quick irresistible chocolaty treat.
Kristin @ My uncommon slice of suburbia: Christmas Magic Cookie Bars are rich, yet delicious with a buttery graham cracker crust layered with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut flakes then topped off with red and green m&m, baked to golden perfection, they make for the perfect holiday treat.
Meegan Makes: Peppermint snowball cookies: This festive Peppermint Snowball Cookie Recipe is a light buttery cookie from scratch. With a hint of peppermint extract, then rolled in crushed candy canes and confectioners' sugar. It's like Christmas in every bite.
Rebecca @ Zucchini sisters: This vintage old fashioned ginger snap cookies recipe makes the most delicious spiced cookies that are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Perfect for Christmas cookie swaps and gift-giving or any time of the year!
Sign up to our newsletter
Before you go, if you’re not part of our amazing creative community yet but would love to join us, you can sign up for the weekly newsletter through the form below – we’d love to have you on board. By signing up, you’ll also receive a copy of the free ‘Furniture Flip Checklist’ and gain access to all the other printables, e-books and labels in the VIP Resource Library.
Helen says
Those decorated tree cookies look scrumptious, I'm not sure that they would get as far as the Cookie jar, as they would be eaten before then!
Jayne Westerholt says
Funny you should say that, Helen. I had a hard job keeping some back for the photoshoot because everyone kept stealing them when I wasn't looking! When the cookie jar empties in a flash, you know you've done well!
Janet says
These are beautiful and sound delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks so much, Janet! I've included the decorating part of this recipe on YouTube if you'd like to watch that too!
Cindy says
These look and sound delicious! I look forwar to making these. I am a cookie junkie!
Jayne Westerholt says
Oh, Cindy, so am I! I didn't get a look in with these cookies though, they kept 'disappearing' when I wasn't looking! 😉
Liberty says
What is "mixed spice"? These cookies look so pretty and delicious!! The red raspberries and green pistachios are the perfect Christmas colors!!
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Liberty, 'mixed spice' is also called 'allspice' - I'll add that to the recipe. I'm glad you like the cookies, you have to try them, they really are delicious!
Kristen says
These are absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to try them ❤️
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks, Kristen! I hope you love them as much as we do!
Meegan says
Your cookies are so festive and fun! I love the idea of using the dried raspberries for a bright red. Most other frostings or fruits come out yellowish pink. Thanks for the recipe, Jayne. I would love to make these with my grandkids.
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you, Meegan! Yes, these Christmas cookies would be great to make with your grandkids because they are so easy to decorate!
Kippi Ohern says
These cookies are so festive I have to make them for Christmas. The chopped nuts and raspberries are so pretty.
Merry Christmas,
Kippi
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you Kippi! These cookies are definitely Christmas favourites at our house!
Carol Karl | Living a Real Life says
The Christmas trees are amazing. All these cookies look wonderful but I'm in denial about Christmas coming. Too soon!
Jayne Westerholt says
Ah, no, Carol! Christmas is not coming too soon, we're just getting our recipes together so that we will be well prepared this year! By the time Christmas comes, there is always so much to do, we won't have time to waste looking for recipes then!
Rebecca says
These cookies look amazing, Jayne! I love that you used white chocolate as frosting. The pistachios and freeze dried raspberries are such unique toppings. You've created a lovely gourmet treat! Thanks for sharing the excellent tutorial. Now I'm off to check out your YouTube video. Pinned!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Rebecca! Making Christmas cookies is one of my favourite things to do and these really were a treat!