Christmas tree biscuits

Christmas tree biscuits

Edible decorations are a novelty at Christmas – these gingerbread biscuits look great and taste even better. Make extra for the table, or eat them straight from the tree.

Christmas tree biscuits

Why not have a go at making traditional German lebkuchen, too?

  • Serves icon Makes about 10
  • Time icon Hands-on time 10 min, oven time 15-20 min, plus chilling

Edible decorations are a novelty at Christmas – these gingerbread biscuits look great and taste even better. Make extra for the table, or eat them straight from the tree.

Why not have a go at making traditional German lebkuchen, too?

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
193kcals
Fat
8.6g (5.3g saturated)
Protein
2g
Carbohydrates
28.4g (12.8g sugars)
Fibre
0.8g
Salt
0.2g

Ingredients

  • 175g plain flour, plus extra to dust
  • 2 tbsp ground ginger
  • 2 tbsp crystallised ginger, very finely chopped
  • Zest of 1 lemon or orange
  • 100g butter, chilled and cubed
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • Oil to grease
  • 5 tbsp icing sugar to decorate
  • Silver and white sugar balls to decorate
Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

  1. In a food processor, whizz the flour, ground and crystallised ginger, zest and butter with ½ tsp salt until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the sugar and milk, pulsing to form a dough, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Shape the dough into a flat disc, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to the thickness of a pound coin. Use star and bauble-shape cookie cutters to stamp out about 10 biscuits, re-rolling the trimmings as needed. Transfer the biscuits to a lightly oiled baking sheet, then chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  3. Bake on the middle oven shelf for 15-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Leave to firm slightly on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. To make the icing, add warm water little by little to the icing sugar and whisk to a consistency thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Drizzle or pipe the icing over the biscuits, then decorate with sugar balls.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
193kcals
Fat
8.6g (5.3g saturated)
Protein
2g
Carbohydrates
28.4g (12.8g sugars)
Fibre
0.8g
Salt
0.2g

delicious. tips

  1. These biscuits make great tree decorations. When they’re still warm from the oven, punch a small hole in the top of the biscuit using a piping nozzle. When cool and crisp, thread them with ribbon and hang on your tree.

  2. Freeze the biscuits, un-iced, for up to 1 month. Defrost at room temperature for 2-3 hours before icing and serving.

Buy ingredients online

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Christmas baking

Christmas gingerbread men

We’ve taken inspiration from our favourite Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker,...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Christmas baking

Festive hanging biscuits

Mima Sinclair’s gingerbread biscuits add an element of fun, and...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Christmas baking

Soft amaretti

If you can bring yourself to give them away, these...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Christmas baking

Gingerbread biscuit dough

Master Mima Sinclair’s gingerbread dough recipe, then impress guests and...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.