Christmas cookie season is in FULL swing and these Christmas Tree Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies are the best addition to any cookie collection! The richness of the chocolate perfectly complements the buttery saltiness of the shortbread, and the tree frosting on top adds just the right amount of sweetness and festive fun. These are incredibly easy to make and pretty much fool-proof – even the most amateur baker can pull these off! How is everyone else’s holiday baking going?
Shortbread Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temp (339g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g) + extra for sprinkling
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (475g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
Buttercream Frosting
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp (170g)
- 340 g powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream
- assorted gel food coloring
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together just until combined, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, and then add them to the butter mixture with the mixer on slow. Continue mixing on slow just until the dough starts to come together. Dust your work surface with flour and scoop out the dough onto it. Shape it into a thick rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap, then chill it in the fridge for ~30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, roll the dough out until it's 1/2" thick. Cut 2 1/4" x 3" rectangles out of the dough, reshaping the excess and rerolling to get more cookies. Place the cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving room for them to spread. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar, and bake for 20-25 minutes, just until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool to room temp.
- While they're cooling, melt 6-7 oz of chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. I recommend microwaving for 30 second increments and stirring in between until the chocolate is melted. Once the cookies are cool, carefully dip one side into the chocolate and let the excess drip back into the bowl before inverting the cookie onto a wire rack to allow the chocolate to solidify. Once the chocolate is solidified, you can flip them back over and decorate the cookies.
Make the Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter alone on medium-high for 6-7 minutes, until light and creamy. Reduce the speed to low and add the salt and powdered sugar slowly, and continue until the sugar is fully mixed.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and heavy cream and mix until combined. Once mixed, turn the speed back to medium-high and mix for an additional 6-7 minutes, this will give the buttercream a beautifully light texture.
- If you don't quite like the consistency, add either milk (1 tsp at a time) or more powdered sugar to thin it out or make it thicker respectively.
- Separate the buttercream, coloring most with the green food coloring until the desired color is reached, and color a small bit with yellow for the tree star.
- To decorate the cookies, Pipe on the buttercreams as shown in the photo, and sprinkle with your choice of holiday sprinkles. To make the tree trunk, melt the last bit of remaining chocolate and carefully pipe it onto the cookie below the tree. Allow the frosting and chocolate to set before serving.
- Enjoy!
