Swirly Christmas Tree Cookies
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Updated Dec 7, 2023
These adorable tree cookies are so easy to make with Pillsbury™ cookie dough! What a fun way to spend time with your kiddos, making these little treats that really deliver on joy! Little fingers can help shape the dough ropes and decorate the trees.
What are Swirly Christmas Tree Cookies?
These Christmas tree sugar cookies made by rolling sugar cookie dough into logs and then twisting the ropes back and forth to make the darling tree cookies. Topped with mini candy-coated chocolate candies and colored sugar that get baked right into the cookies. No further decorating necessary!
What Are Other Ways to Decorate the Trees?
You can omit either the candies or the colored sugar or both! Once these cookie Christmas trees are baked, you can decorate with your favorite icings and sprinkles.
More About This Recipe
- We love the clever use of sugar cookie dough to make these cute Christmas tree sugar cookies easy and fun! For other easy holiday cookies, try the ornament cookies or the holiday wreath sugar cookies next!
Frequently Asked Questions
To make your Christmas tree cookies look like the ones in the photo, take out only one half of the dough from the freezer at a time to work with and bake one batch at a time. Work quickly shaping the dough and decorating the trees to keep it from warming up from your hands or from the room. If the dough is too warm, it can either puff up, losing the swirly appearance and/or flatten when baked. Be sure to use completely cooled cookie sheets, so the cookies don’t spread or flatten. If you have a second cookie sheet, you can form your trees and decorate them while the first batch bakes.
Swirly Christmas Tree Cookies
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- Prep Time 1 hr 5 min
- Total 1 hr 15 min
- Ingredients 4
- Servings 20
Ingredients
- 1 roll (16.5 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Sugar Cookie Dough
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Miniature candy-coated chocolate candies, if desired
- Green decorator sugar crystals, if desired
Instructions
-
Step1Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour until well blended. (DO NOT EAT RAW COOKIE DOUGH AFTER COMBINING WITH FLOUR.) Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic wrap. Place in freezer 10 minutes.
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Step2Shape half of dough into 1-inch balls. With fingers, roll each ball into 10-inch rope, about 1/4 inch wide. Break off small piece from each rope for tree trunk. Carefully place ropes on ungreased cookie sheet.
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Step3With each rope, starting at top, twist rope back and forth into tree shape, gradually making larger at bottom (rows of dough should touch). If rope breaks, press dough together. Place small piece at bottom of each tree for trunk. Repeat with remaining half of dough.
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Step4Decorate trees with candies to look like ornaments or lights. Place candy at top of each tree for star; sprinkle with sugar. Bake 9 to 13 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
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Nutrition
110
Calories
5g
Total Fat
0g
Protein
16g
Total Carbohydrate
8g
Sugars
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 Large Cookie (Without Decorations)
- Calories
- 110
- Calories from Fat
- 45
- Total Fat
- 5g
- 7%
- Saturated Fat
- 1g
- 6%
- Trans Fat
- 1g
- Cholesterol
- 10mg
- 3%
- Sodium
- 65mg
- 3%
- Potassium
- 0mg
- 0%
- Total Carbohydrate
- 16g
- 5%
- Dietary Fiber
- 0g
- 0%
- Sugars
- 8g
- Protein
- 0g
% Daily Value*:
- Vitamin A
- 0%
- 0%
- Vitamin C
- 0%
- 0%
- Calcium
- 0%
- 0%
- Iron
- 2%
- 2%
Exchanges:
1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 Fat;Carbohydrate Choice
1Tips from the
Pillsbury Kitchens
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