These Christmas tree sugar cookies decorated using fondant are perfect for the holidays.
If you enjoy baking Christmas cookies, but want an easy way to decorate them then this is it!
You may also enjoy letting the kids make these edible Christmas Tree ice cream cones. Find even more desserts with this list of Christmas cookies and bars.
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Decorating Cut Out Sugar Cookies With Fondant
I love baking cookies, but sometimes decorating all of those sugar cookies can be very time consuming. I know that’s half the fun (at least for the kids), but I like having low stress options on hand too.
In the past, I usually decorated Christmas cookies with regular frosting or royal icing. However, mixing the right consistency for royal icing can be a pain sometimes. Or my hand starts to hurt before I’m done decorating.
I recently learned about using fondant for decorating sugar cookies and I’m loving it! I’ve taken cookie decorating classes in the past and I’m really interested in learning more techniques for using fondant on cookies.
Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies Ingredients:
This sugar cookie recipe yields more than one dozen cookies; however, we recommend baking and decorating these one dozen at a time. You may refrigerate any remaining sugar cookie dough to bake later.
If you do not wish to make sugar cookies from scratch, you could also use store bought sugar cookie dough to bake according to the package directions and skip to our section on decorating.
For the cookies:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
To decorate:
- 4 oz. white rolling fondant
- Green decorating frosting
- Rainbow nonpareils sprinkles
- Brown edible marker
Tools Needed:
How to Make Roll Out Sugar Cookies:
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until creamy. Then add the softened butter and vanilla extract and mix until all ingredients are well combined and set aside.
In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder and salt. Then slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until cookie dough forms.
Roll cookie dough into a large sphere and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
After refrigerating for an hour or more, remove the dough from the fridge and let sit as you preheat the oven and prep your workspace.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dust a clean working area with all purpose flour and roll out the dough to about a quarter of an inch thick.
Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles out of the cookie dough. Place each one gently on the lined baking sheet. Save any remaining cookie dough and refrigerate.
Bake cookies for about 6 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Then cool completely on a wire rack.
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies With Fondant
To decorate, roll out white fondant so that it’s about a quarter of an inch thick.
Use the same 2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out 12 fondant circles.
Press one fondant circle on one cookie. To help it stick, lightly brush a little water on the back of the fondant then gently press on to the sugar cookie. Repeat for the rest.
Attach Wilton tip #21 to the green decorating frosting and pipe out a triangular shape in the middle of each cookie.
Use brown edible marker to draw a trunk at the bottom of the green frosting and sprinkle with rainbow nonpareils.
If you do not want to use frosting, you could also cut out little Christmas tree shapes using green fondant and press nonpareils sprinkles into the tree for decorations.
How to Store These Fondant Covered Sugar Cookies
Whether you are making these Christmas tree sugar cookies ahead of time or have some leftover, you may be wondering how to store them once decorated with fondant.
You can store them for about a week in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Humidity can affect the look and taste if they aren’t sealed and stored properly.
Place the fondant decorated Christmas tree cookies in a single layer inside the container, then place parchment paper or wax paper in between the layers of cookies.
More Christmas Treats:
Christmas Tree Fondant Covered Sugar Cookies
These Christmas tree sugar cookies decorated using fondant are perfect for the holidays. If you enjoy baking Christmas cookies, but want an easy way to decorate them then this is it!
Ingredients
- For sugar cookies:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- To decorate:
- 4 oz. white rolling fondant
- Green decorating frosting
- Rainbow nonpareils sprinkles
- Brown edible marker
- Tools Needed:
- 2 inch round cookie cutter
- Pastry Mat
- Rolling Pin
- Wilton Star Tip 21
Instructions
How to Make Roll Out Sugar Cookies:
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until creamy.
- Add the softened butter and vanilla extract. Mix until all ingredients are well combined and set aside.
- In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder and salt.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until cookie dough forms.
- Roll cookie dough into a large sphere and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- After refrigerating for an hour or more, remove the dough from the fridge and let sit as you preheat the oven and prep your workspace.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dust a clean working area with all purpose flour and roll out the dough to about a quarter of an inch thick.
- Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles out of the cookie dough. Place each one gently on the lined baking sheet. Save any remaining cookie dough and refrigerate.
- Bake cookies for about 6 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Then cool completely on a wire rack.
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies With Fondant
- To decorate, roll out white fondant so that it’s about a quarter of an inch thick.
- Use the same 2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out 12 fondant circles.
- Press one fondant circle on one cookie. To help it stick, lightly brush a little water on the back of the fondant then gently press on to the sugar cookie. Repeat for the rest.
- Attach Wilton tip #21 to the green decorating frosting and pipe out a triangular shape in the middle of each cookie.
- Use brown edible marker to draw a trunk at the bottom of the green frosting.
- Sprinkle with rainbow nonpareils.
Notes
This sugar cookie recipe yields more than one dozen cookies; however, we recommend baking and decorating these one dozen at a time. You may refrigerate any remaining sugar cookie dough to bake later.
If you do not wish to make sugar cookies from scratch, you could also use store bought sugar cookie dough to bake according to the package directions and skip to our section on decorating.
If you do not want to use frosting, you could also cut out little Christmas tree shapes using green fondant and press nonpareils sprinkles into the tree for decorations.
Noemi
Friday 28th of January 2022
So I tried a batch of cookies this week with store bought cookie mix but the problem I had was with the cookies being too hard! Is there a way of preventing this? I usually place a slice of bread with my cookies to prevent it but not sure how it’ll work with them being covered with fondant.
Darcy Zalewski
Wednesday 13th of April 2022
I usually use a slice of bread as well. Sometimes I think the mixes result in harder cookies but I'm not entirely sure why. Hope they turned out ok for you in the end!
Carol Ann Nachreiner
Wednesday 17th of November 2021
what kind of frosting do you make for the decoration on top of cookie??
Darcy Zalewski
Thursday 18th of November 2021
Hi Carol Ann, we used green decorating frosting. I linked to it in the ingredients list within the post. You could also cut out tree shapes from green fondant or make buttercream frosting.