Sugar Cookie Tree
Holiday Cookies 2011
- Course: Dessert
- Features: Holiday (Christmas)
Summary:
Ask three cookie designers for their favorite sugar cookie recipe, and you'll get three different answers. This one is designer Gail Dosik's favorite, which is tasty yet sturdy enough for stacking. Food coloring added to the dough lends a new dimension to decorated cookies.
Because liquid food coloring can affect the cookies' flavor, Dosik likes to use Americolor brand food coloring gel, which is available at baking supply/crafts stores and via Amazon.com. It's best to use food-safe gloves when kneading the food coloring gel into the dough.
You'll need a set of seven plain round, fluted or crinkled-edge cookie cutters in 7 graduated sizes (they often come in sets of 12) and a 2-ounce squeeze bottle or a 12-inch-long disposable pastry bag fitted with a coupler and plain round pastry tip #2, for "gluing" the stacked cookies together. The equipment is available at baking supply/crafts stores.
Pasteurized eggs are available at some Harris Teeter stores; look for Davidson's brand.
MAKE AHEAD: The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; do not refrigerate. Undecorated, baked cookies can be frozen for up to 4 weeks in airtight containers, with double layers of parchment between the layers of cookies. Defrost at room temperature in the wrapping so the condensation forms on the parchment rather than on the cookie. The icing can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days; stir before using.
Makes enough for one 5 1/2-inch tall, tiered cookie tree or approximately sixteen 3 1/-inch cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies- 3 1/2 cups (18 1/2 ounces) unsifted flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups (9 1/4 ounces) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring gel, plus 1/8 and up to 1/4 teaspoon leaf-green food coloring gel, preferably Americolor brand (see headnote)
- 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
- 3 ounces pasteurized egg whites, from about 2 eggs (may substitute reconstituted egg white or meringue powder; see headnote)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
- Water
Directions:
For the cookies: Prepare 6 sheets of parchment paper about 18 by 13 inches (baking sheet size).
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed until well incorporated, then stop to scrape down the bowl.
Add the flour mixture in thirds, beating on low speed until well combined after the first two additions and stopping to scrape down the bowl after each addition. After the remaining flour is added, beat on low speed until just incorporated. The dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl and be soft yet very pliable.
Transfer a little less than one-third of the dough to a medium bowl or a nonporous surface. Add the 1/8 teaspoon of the red food coloring gel; knead (preferably wearing food-safe gloves) until the color is fully incorporated.
Sandwich the red dough between two sheets of the parchment paper. Roll out the red dough as thin as possible (1/8 inch). Transfer to the freezer (with the parchment on top and bottom) for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours before cutting out cookies.
Add 1/8 teaspoon of the leaf-green food coloring gel to the remaining dough in the mixing bowl; beat on medium-low speed to incorporate, adding as much of the remaining 1/4 teaspoon as needed.
Transfer the green dough to a work surface and divide in half. Sandwich each half of green dough between the remaining parchment sheets, and roll out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Transfer to the freezer for at least 30 minutes before cutting out the cookies.
Position oven racks in the upper and lower portions of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
For a cookie tree using round or fluted shapes, you’ll need to cut out a total of 17 cookies: seven pairs of graduated sizes in green (with the largest being 3 1/2 inches) and three 2-inch red cookies, for the base.
Remove sheet of frozen dough from freezer and peel off both sides of parchment paper, then lay the dough back down on one piece of the parchment. Cut the cookies while dough is frozen, and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet spaced at least 3/4 inch apart. If the dough defrosts too much, cover with the parchment and freeze until the dough is firm again.
When the baking sheets are filled, bake the cookies for 7 or 8 minutes, then rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, removing smaller cookies that might be done sooner, until barely browned on the edges.
Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
For the icing: Working in batches, combine the confectioners’ sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on low speed until all is well blended. Add the lemon or lime juice, beating so the icing is smooth and fluffy and holds a soft peak. The yield is about 2 1/2 cups, about half of which is used in this recipe. This is the stiff version of the icing, which will be used for piping.
Transfer about 4 tablespoons of the icing to a container with a tight-fitting lid. Stir in enough red food coloring gel to make a nice, bright red but not so much that the consistency gets too thin; this should remain fairly stiff. Cover until ready to use.
Add water by the teaspoonful to the remaining icing in the bowl and enough green food coloring gel to achieve a "flood" consistency. The trail of a knife drawn through the icing in the bowl should disappear quickly after 5 to 7 seconds. Cover the bowl with a dampened dish towel until ready to use. (Exposed royal icing will begin to crust over, rendering it lumpy and difficult to apply, and the final product will be uneven.)
To assemble: Pair the sets of cookies for each tier of the tree (seven sets of 2) and for the base (3).
Apply a small squeeze of the red icing at the center of the first of the three base cookies. Be careful with quantity, as you don't want any icing to seep out of the cookie stack. Top with a second cookie, making sure they are centered. Add a small quantity of icing and top with the third cookie, making sure the base is lined up and straight. Let this sit for about 1 hour to dry.
Starting with the largest set (bottom of tree), apply a small amount of the green (flood consistency) icing to the center of the first cookie, again taking care not to use too much icing. Top with its same-size mate, making sure it’s centered. Repeat with the 6 remaining tiers. Let this dry for about 1 hour.
Apply a small amount of either color icing to the center of the base stack. Attach the bottom (largest) tier of the tree, making sure it is centered. Repeat with the remaining tiers. Let this assembly dry for about 1 hour before adding any final decorations.
Fill the squeeze bottle or the pastry bag about halfway full with the red (stiff consistency) icing for decorating. Pipe small dots or swags as desired (see accompanying video).
Recipe Source:
From cookie designer and Washington native Gail Dosik, a.k.a. One Tough Cookie, who blogs at onetoughcookienyc.com.
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
(Matt McClain for The Washington Post)
