This year, instead of making a gingerbread house we made a gingerbread Christmas tree! It’s the most adorable homemade, gingerbread tree and perfect recipe that’s beautiful as a centerpiece and makes the house smell incredible!
Using star and snowflake cookie cutters, we were able to make the most delicious tree that was the perfect centerpiece for our holiday party.
Also, check out our mini gingerbread houses that fit perfectly on a mug filled with hot chocolate!
I love how easy it is to make gingerbread too. The recipe we use below smells so good when baking! It’s truly a beautiful centerpiece for a dessert table or even the kids’ table for Christmas. You can also leave it on a shelf in the kitchen as a beautiful Christmas decor piece.
Furthermore, it fills the house with a delightful and cheery scent. Read below for our directions for this gingerbread Christmas tree!
Now start the Christmas tunes and begin baking!
How to Make a Gingerbread Tree
You’ll need these items to make this gingerbread tree:
Cookie Cutters – Star gingerbread cookie tree cutouts OR snowflake gingerbread tree cutouts.
Rolling Pin
Parchment Paper
Piping Bag
Mixing Bowls
Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
- butter
- dark brown sugar
- light molasses – Grandma’s molasses is what we use.
- ground cinnamonÂ
- baking sodaÂ
- Â ground gingerÂ
- Â ground clovesÂ
- all-purpose flourÂ
Tip – Molasses is a very unique sweetener. If you’re in a bind you can use a substitution for molasses, however, it will change the texture and flavor of the gingerbread.
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth
- Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough.
- Chill 20 minutes or until semi firm.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out the dough and use cutters to create the different star shapes.
- Follow the directions on these cookie-cutters which you tell you exactly how many cookies to make. To make a tall tree, you will need to make 2 sets of cookies in each size.
- Then, bake for about 10 minutes or until crispy.
- Next, let the gingerbread cutouts cool while you prepare the icing. We have the best gingerbread house icing that is simple to make and dries quickly.
- Once the icing is done, add it to a piping bag and cut a small hole at the bottom.
- Starting with the largest cookie, outline it with icing and add a dot in the middle. Then do the same with the next cookie and place it over the top of the larger cookie. Continue until you reach the top!
Tips for Making a Gingerbread Tree
- The dough will be soft, so make sure to let it firm up a little in the refrigerator. Otherwise, it will be hard to transfer the cutout cookie to the cookie sheet.
- Use extra flour on the bottom and top of the gingerbread dough when rolling it out. This will help the roller not stick and also help when transferring the cookies to a cookie sheet.
- Bake 2 sets of cookies in each size to make a taller tree.
- When staking the cookies, make sure you stack them opposite of each other to make the tree appear to have branches. If you place the cookies directly on top, not alternating them it’s not going to give a tree appearance.
- Add a dusting of powdered sugar over the top of the gingerbread tree.
How Long Will a Gingerbread Christmas Tree Last?
Gingerbread lasts a very long time! You will have no problems keeping this gingerbread tree as decoration for months. When the holidays are over, you can toss it and then make a new, fresh one the next year.
More Christmas Ideas You’ll Love!
You will absolutely love this gingerbread tree. It will last the entire month of December, so place this show-stopping tree somewhere everyone can see it.
Let us know if you make this gingerbread tree by leaving a comment and review below! We’d love to know your thoughts.
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Gingerbread Tree
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light molasses , or dark corn syrup
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 3 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp water
Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp meringue powder
- 8 tbsp warm water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth
- Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough.
- Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Roll out the dough and use cutters to create the different star shapes.
- There is a chart inside the cookie-cutter package that tells you exactly how many cookies to make, 19 cookies total, but I ended up only using 16 cookies.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or until crispy.
Icing Recipe
- With the whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients for about 5-10 minutes, until the frosting is fluffy and thick.
Beautiful tree! Do you let the icing dry before you stack?
This is such a cute idea! I love gingerbread!
Maria xx
http://www.cheekypinktulip.blogspot.com
Stunning, Eden!!!
Thank you all for the wonderful comments!! The tree looks so pretty on our table and it smells good too! Xo
SOOOO Christmassy!!! beautiful!!!
This is absolutely brilliant. Although I feel like it could be tricky to transport (knowing me, that is!). Ha!
beautiful and creative! I love it!
this is adorable!
How fun!