Prep time
1 hour 30 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Course
Dessert
Skill level
Beginner
Season
Winter, Fall
Serves
20 to 30 cookies
I am not one to mess with the classics, especially around the holidays, so I’m not going to say that your grandmother’s sugar cookies need to be anything other than the delights that they are. I will say, however, that while I’ve been known to eat my body weight in sugar cookies, especially in the nude (the cookies, not me), I love their delicate vanilla flavor, but I find the cookies dressed in the standard holiday garb of royal icing to be a little…wanting.
It’s rarely the cookie itself that’s underwhelming, it’s the shellac of flavorless icing that does the delicious cookie a disservice. I love how cheery they look all dolled up in bright colors—royal icing serves this decorative purpose—but I can’t help wishing that the flavor more often matched the visual appeal.
I asked myself: “What do I want my holiday sugar cookies to taste like?” Answer: “Christmas.”
And what says Christmas to the senses more than the Christmas tree? So, I snapped a few tips off the ends of the branches, snipped off the needles, and ground them to paste with powdered sugar and cream. I knew, as soon as the smell of the warm cookies mixed with the fragrance of fir, that I was onto something good. When I glazed one and took my first bite, I smiled big and passed the plate around—eyebrows went up, and they all smiled, too. They were thereby dubbed “the Christmasiest Christmas cookie of all time.”
I guess maybe I am one to mess with the classics, but if you try this, I think you’ll forgive me. Feel free to use your favorite sugar cookie recipe to pair with this evergreen icing, but I’ll share my favorite here, which I’ve adapted, slightly, with the addition of a pinch of nutmeg and a splash of booze to really warm things up and welcome that evergreen spirit.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup butter, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use nocino)
- 1 tbsp. cognac, brandy, bourbon, amaretto, or something similar
Evergreen Icing
- 2 to 3 tbsp. evergreen needles (fir or spruce)
- ¼ cup cream, milk, or half & half
- 1¼ cup confectioners sugar
Preparation
Preparation for Sugar Cookies
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Lower speed to beat in egg, vanilla, and cognac. With mixer all the way on low, add the dry ingredient mixture slowly and stir until combined.
- Divide dough in half and flatten roughly into 1-inch thick disks. Wrap in plastic and freeze for 20 minutes if baking immediately. Alternatively, you can chill in the fridge for a few days or freeze for a few months.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one portion of dough from the freezer and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until pliable.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out to ⅛-inch thick, dusting your rolling pin if it starts to stick.
- Cut dough into shapes using cutters, the open end of a drinking glass, or, as I often do, trace and cut shapes out of thin cardboard and cut the dough around them with the tip of a sharp knife.
- Using a floured spatula, transfer to baking sheets. Repeat with remaining scraps of dough.
- Bake at 325°F for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on size. Check halfway and turn the baking sheet if they’re cooking unevenly. You want slightly golden edges and a light, soft center. Your nose will likely tell you when they’re done.
- Cool on wire cooling racks completely before glazing.
Preparation for Evergreen Icing
- Collect 3 to 5 hand-sized branch ends of fir or spruce.
- Snip the needles off the branches into a bowl until you have 2 to 3 tablespoons worth.
- Grind needles in an electric spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle until finely ground or pulverized.
- Scrape the ground pulp out of the grinder or mortar into a small bowl.
- Add half of the confectioners’ sugar a little at a time and mash with the back of a spoon to mix with the ground needles.
- When you have added half of the sugar and have an evenly mixed paste, stir in your cream and mix completely.
- Pour and press this mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl to screen out the bigger bits of balsam pulp.
- Stir in the rest of your confectioners' sugar bit by bit until you have the consistency you like. If you’re going to paint or pipe it on for more detailed decoration, you’ll want it thick with more sugar. If you want to drizzle or spoon it on, less sugar. I usually just use the spoon I mixed the glaze with. I usually fully glaze half the batch with icing for full flavor, and the other half, I’ll dust with powdered sugar and top that with a light drizzle of glaze for a more subtle flavor.
Conifer Sugar Cookies
Prep time
1 hour 30 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Course
Dessert
Skill level
Beginner
Season
Winter, Fall
Serves
20 to 30 cookies
I am not one to mess with the classics, especially around the holidays, so I’m not going to say that your grandmother’s sugar cookies need to be anything other than the delights that they are. I will say, however, that while I’ve been known to eat my body weight in sugar cookies, especially in the nude (the cookies, not me), I love their delicate vanilla flavor, but I find the cookies dressed in the standard holiday garb of royal icing to be a little…wanting.
It’s rarely the cookie itself that’s underwhelming, it’s the shellac of flavorless icing that does the delicious cookie a disservice. I love how cheery they look all dolled up in bright colors—royal icing serves this decorative purpose—but I can’t help wishing that the flavor more often matched the visual appeal.
I asked myself: “What do I want my holiday sugar cookies to taste like?” Answer: “Christmas.”
And what says Christmas to the senses more than the Christmas tree? So, I snapped a few tips off the ends of the branches, snipped off the needles, and ground them to paste with powdered sugar and cream. I knew, as soon as the smell of the warm cookies mixed with the fragrance of fir, that I was onto something good. When I glazed one and took my first bite, I smiled big and passed the plate around—eyebrows went up, and they all smiled, too. They were thereby dubbed “the Christmasiest Christmas cookie of all time.”
I guess maybe I am one to mess with the classics, but if you try this, I think you’ll forgive me. Feel free to use your favorite sugar cookie recipe to pair with this evergreen icing, but I’ll share my favorite here, which I’ve adapted, slightly, with the addition of a pinch of nutmeg and a splash of booze to really warm things up and welcome that evergreen spirit.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup butter, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use nocino)
- 1 tbsp. cognac, brandy, bourbon, amaretto, or something similar
Evergreen Icing
- 2 to 3 tbsp. evergreen needles (fir or spruce)
- ¼ cup cream, milk, or half & half
- 1¼ cup confectioners sugar
Preparation
Preparation for Sugar Cookies
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Lower speed to beat in egg, vanilla, and cognac. With mixer all the way on low, add the dry ingredient mixture slowly and stir until combined.
- Divide dough in half and flatten roughly into 1-inch thick disks. Wrap in plastic and freeze for 20 minutes if baking immediately. Alternatively, you can chill in the fridge for a few days or freeze for a few months.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one portion of dough from the freezer and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until pliable.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out to ⅛-inch thick, dusting your rolling pin if it starts to stick.
- Cut dough into shapes using cutters, the open end of a drinking glass, or, as I often do, trace and cut shapes out of thin cardboard and cut the dough around them with the tip of a sharp knife.
- Using a floured spatula, transfer to baking sheets. Repeat with remaining scraps of dough.
- Bake at 325°F for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on size. Check halfway and turn the baking sheet if they’re cooking unevenly. You want slightly golden edges and a light, soft center. Your nose will likely tell you when they’re done.
- Cool on wire cooling racks completely before glazing.
Preparation for Evergreen Icing
- Collect 3 to 5 hand-sized branch ends of fir or spruce.
- Snip the needles off the branches into a bowl until you have 2 to 3 tablespoons worth.
- Grind needles in an electric spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle until finely ground or pulverized.
- Scrape the ground pulp out of the grinder or mortar into a small bowl.
- Add half of the confectioners’ sugar a little at a time and mash with the back of a spoon to mix with the ground needles.
- When you have added half of the sugar and have an evenly mixed paste, stir in your cream and mix completely.
- Pour and press this mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl to screen out the bigger bits of balsam pulp.
- Stir in the rest of your confectioners' sugar bit by bit until you have the consistency you like. If you’re going to paint or pipe it on for more detailed decoration, you’ll want it thick with more sugar. If you want to drizzle or spoon it on, less sugar. I usually just use the spoon I mixed the glaze with. I usually fully glaze half the batch with icing for full flavor, and the other half, I’ll dust with powdered sugar and top that with a light drizzle of glaze for a more subtle flavor.