Delicious holiday cookies made with cream cheese that are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside!
Tis’ the season for baking holiday cookies! And here’s one that everyone will want in their cookie box, Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies! Adding cream cheese in these sugar cookies is a game changer! They are slightly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with rich cream cheese frosting piping right on top. They’re so good!
Here are more Christmas desserts that you will love! Try my Red Velvet Cake, Red Velvet Bundt Cake, Triple Chocolate Espresso Christmas Brownies, and my White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Cranberry Gelee!
What are some of the ingredients used in these Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies?
Sugar- granulated sugar is used in the cookie and powdered sugar is used in the frosting.
Butter- unsalted butter is best for cookies. You want to be able to control the amount of salt that goes in it.
Cream Cheese- full fat cream cheese is best. You want these cookie to be rich, and for the cookies to be soft.
Food gel- a dark forest green colored food gel is used in the frosting to achieve that pine needle color. Food gel is better than regular food coloring, but it is thicker and will not make the frosting runny.
Sprinkles- good sprinkles are used for the tree decorations. they can not be purchased in the supermarket. These Gold Sugar Pearls were bought on Amazon.
Where does the inspiration for these Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies come from?
These festive holiday cookies are inspired by the Evergreen Cashmere candle by Woodwick Candles.
This fresh pine candle has notes of warm cashmere, spice, sandalwood and fir balsam. The buttery, rich vanilla in these cookies pairs perfectly with the candle’s warm cashmere notes.
This WoodWick® Eclipse Candle personalizes your space with rich, nuanced fragrance. It will help you create the right ambiance for your curated home. WoodWick candles are definitely a must have!
How are the Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies made?
To make these cookies, add butter, and cream cheese, to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer. You want the mixture to be smooth. Add the egg, and vanilla extract, and beat again.
Add the dry ingredients until combined.
Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight. You want to make sure the dough is stiff enough to roll out. Use a 4 inch Christmas tree cookie cutter and cut out all of the dough and place the trees on a baking pan. Combine scraps and re-roll the leftover dough cutting additional cookie trees using additional cookie sheets. Bake the cookies and cool completely before decorating them.
How are the Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies decorated?
To decorate the cookies pipe dark green frosting starting on the bottom of each cookie (without piping on the trunk) into swoops, lifting the piping bag while squeezing out the frosting slightly in the beginning, then immediately bringing the tip down as you continue the frosting line about 1/2 of an inch. It may be hard the get the rhythm of piping them, but after a while, you will get it.
Repeat this process until you complete the bottom row. Then pipe additional rows of swoops until you get to the top of the tree.
You can add gold sprinkle balls or any other type of sprinkles to the trees for ornaments and gold sprinkles stars to the tops of the trees as an additional option.
Let the icing slightly harden for a couple of hours or serve it right after decorating. Either way, they will be delicious!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can you freeze the dough before baking?
Yes, you can freeze the dough wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in a zip bag for up to 4 months. Just thaw the dough on the counter at room temperature when ready to use.
How do you store these Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies?
Store these cookies flat in a zip freezer bag, with layers of parchment paper between them for up to 3 months.
Do you have to use gold sprinkles on the cookies?
No, you can use any type of sprinkles to decorate the cookies. Or, you can choose not to use any sprinkles.
Here are other great Christmas Cookie recipes:
Cream Cheese Christmas Tree Cookies
Delicious holiday cookies made with cream cheese that are perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese brick, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Forrest green food gel
Optional Garnish
- Gold metallic sprinkle balls
- Gold metallic stars
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, and cream cheese, and beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the egg, and vanilla extract, and beat again. Add baking powder, salt and one cup of the flour. Beat at a low speed until combined. Add each additional cup of flour beating at the low speed after each cup is added. Divide dough in half and wrap each of them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle a large cutting board with flour. Place down one disk of dough, then dust the top of the dough with flour as well. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. With a 4 inch tree shaped cookie cutter, cut out several trees and carefully transfer them to parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Combine scraps and re-roll the leftover dough cutting additional cookie trees using additional cookie sheets.Bake one pan at a time for 10 – 12 minutes, or until cookies are done and edges begin turning golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool completely.
Frosting
- Add cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract to a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until combined and fluffy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating in between each add until smooth. Add several drops of forest green food gel and mix until you get a deep green color.Add part of the frosting to a piping bag with a small star tip. Pipe the frosting starting on the bottom of each cookie (without piping on the trunk) into swoops, lifting the piping bag while squeezing out the frosting slightly in the beginning, then immediately bringing the tip down as you continue the frosting line about 1/2 of an inch. Repeat until you complete the bottom row. Then pipe additional rows of swoops until you get to the top of the tree. Add gold sprinkle balls to the trees for ornaments and gold sprinkles stars to the tops of the trees as an additional option.Let the icing slightly harden for a couple of hours or serve it right after decorating.
