Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies

26 Жовтня, 2025
🎄 Baking beautiful gingerbread biscuits (cookies) for the Christmas tree is a quiet kind of delight. From the kitchen, a warm cloud of melted butter, honey and spices drifts through the rooms; a real tree has just been brought in from the cold, filling the air with resinous pine (and, more likely than not, sticking to the fingers); festive music in the background and that faint, unmistakable sense of anticipation — these are the moments I want to share today.
🫚 These biscuits turn out thin but sturdy, with a smooth surface (perfect for royal icing) and clean edges, and they are light enough to hang on the tree without pulling the branches down.

If you prefer soft and puffy gingerbread for coffee/tea — simply roll the dough thicker, about 8–10 mm. I’ll give precise baking times at the end of the article.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Kitchen scales • food thermometer • measuring spoons • heavy-based saucepan • tablespoon • mixing bowls • perforated silicone mat • rolling pin with 5 mm guides • biscuit cutters • drinking straw for making holes • cooling rack + paper towels • hand blender • soft disposable piping bags • scribe tool for icing • thin ribbons for hanging • sugar sprinkles for finishing touches

BAKING TIME & TEMPERATURE
6–7 minutes at 180°C, top–bottom heat, no fan, for dough rolled to 5 mm

NUTRITION (with icing)
Per 100 g: 383 kcal (protein 5.2 g • fat 9.7 g • carbs 67.8 g • sugars 47.2 g)
Per biscuit 43 g: 165 kcal (protein 2.2 g • fat 4.2 g • carbs 29 g • sugars 20.3 g)

The key to a reliable result is sequence and precision — measuring spoons, a kitchen thermometer and scales save both ingredients and nerves.

MAKING THE DOUGH

1. Melt the base
Put the sugar, butter and honey into a heavy-based saucepan. Place over medium heat (I use 4.5 out of 9) and stir thoroughly along the bottom until the sugar has fully dissolved (approximately 75 °C / 167 °F). Any remaining sugar crystals can later show up as bubbles or uneven patches on the gingerbread.
💡 Once the mixture goes above 95–100 °C (203–212 °F), the aroma of honey begins to evaporate, the sugar starts to caramelise and may add bitterness. This leads to firmer, drier biscuits. The baking soda will activate too early — the dough will rise less, the fat can separate, and the mass will lose pliability.
If you want to preserve as much of the honey aroma as possible, dissolve the sugar in the butter first, remove the saucepan from the heat, and only then add the honey to the hot mixture (before adding the baking soda).
2. Add the baking soda and spices
Take the saucepan off the heat and immediately add the baking soda. In contact with the hot honey, the mixture will begin to foam gently, becoming slightly lighter in colour and increasing in volume (you should not see a violent, rapid reaction).
If the baking soda does not activate at all, return the pan to the heat with a thermometer inside and, stirring constantly, warm the mixture for 5–10 seconds until it reaches 85–90 °C (185–194 °F), then remove from the heat again. Because some of the soda remains undissolved in the cooked mixture, the dough will still rise later in the oven when moisture and heat finish the reaction.
Add the spices and the salt and stir thoroughly. Allow the mixture to cool to 50 °C (122 °F).

Baking soda can sometimes leave a slight soapy aftertaste. To avoid that, you may use 1/2 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp baking powder (for example, the Dr. Oetker one works very well).

3. Add the egg
Stir in the egg and mix again until combined. The mixture should not be too hot at this stage; otherwise, the egg may start to curdle.

4. Add the flour in two stages
The way the flour is added is just as important — it determines the final structure and pliability of the dough. Divide the total 390 g of flour into two parts:
300 g — the main portion, which can be added at once (or in a couple of additions if you prefer).
The remaining 90 g — a reserve that will be added a tablespoon at a time, only if needed, until the dough reaches the right consistency: soft and slightly sticky.
If stirring with a spoon becomes difficult, transfer the dough onto a silicone mat and continue to work it gently by hand, adding the reserved flour literally a tablespoon at a time. Continue adding flour only until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.
As long as the dough slowly slides off the spoon or your hand when tilted, the amount of flour is correct.
If it runs off quickly and stretches like caramel — add 1–2 tablespoons more and check again.
If it loses its sheen and becomes firm like modelling clay — stop adding flour.
Avoid kneading for too long so as not to warm the dough with your hands.
5. Wrap and chill
Divide the finished dough into two portions and press each into a flat disc about 2–3 cm thick — this helps it chill more quickly and evenly than one large lump. Wrap each disc tightly in cling film and refrigerate for 1–8 hours to allow the structure to mature.
💡 A flat shape chills more evenly and also comes back to rolling temperature more quickly.

ROLLING AND BAKING

6. The resting time at room temperature affects the dough
Up to 20 minutes after the fridge — it will be too firm and will crack.
Around 30 minutes — pliable, cool, holds its shape. This is exactly what we want.
40–50 minutes — soft and sticky. (If the kitchen is warm, work quickly and keep the second portion in the fridge until needed.)
How to recognise the correct consistency of the dough
  • It is pliable and soft, yet holds its shape.
  •  When pressed with a finger, it slowly levels out without cracking.
  •  It does not stick to the work surface, but clings slightly to the hands.
  •  If you lift it and tilt your hand, it slowly slides down.
  •  The surface is smooth, matte, not greasy.
  •  The cut is even, without streaks of butter or dry flour.
  •  After chilling, it becomes firmer and comfortable to work with, but not rigid.
  •  When rolled, it does not tear, does not stick to the rolling pin and does not stretch.

The less we warm the dough with our hands, the more stable the shape and texture of the baked biscuit will be.

Press the dough flat with the rolling pin, working from the centre outward. Gently turn it over and roll from both sides to a thickness of 5 mm. If the dough sticks or pulls into thin strands on the pin, dust very lightly with flour.

Use your cutters to stamp out the shapes for the gingerbread.
You can make the holes for the ribbons either with a drinking straw in the raw dough before baking, or immediately after baking while the biscuits are still hot and soft (this second method gives a neater result).
To lift the cut gingerbread from the work surface, slide a thin knife under the edge and gently raise the dough — the biscuit will release without losing its shape. If needed, smooth any uneven edges with your fingers and neaten the outline.
Remember to leave a little space between the biscuits on the tray so they do not stick to each other during baking.

Baking on a perforated silicone mat gives the biscuits a perfectly flat underside; baking on parchment often creates waves and slight unevenness.

7. Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F), top–bottom heat with no fan. Convection (fan) dries the biscuits from the outside faster than they can bake through, while without it, the dough rises gently and stays even and golden, rather than turning brown at the edges.
8. Bake the gingerbread
Place them into the fully preheated oven for 5–7 minutes. They bake very quickly: they rise slightly and take on a soft golden colour — but if you get distracted, they will darken and crisp within moments.
Do not remove either the biscuits or the mat from the hot tray straight away — let them cool for 4–5 minutes. When hot, they are extremely fragile and can break or stick to the surface. Once they have cooled slightly, gently lift the edge of the mat nearest to a biscuit and ease it off from underneath — it will release cleanly.
The longer the oven stays on, the faster each subsequent batch will bake, so stay close and watch the time — you may need to shorten it by about 1 minute. For example, my second and third batches came out noticeably more coloured.

If possible, transfer the baked biscuits onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely. In the photo below, I made an important mistake — I did not place a protective perforated mat or paper towels over the rack. This matters especially for thicker, softer biscuits, as they take longer to cool and can pick up indentations from the rack.
Alternatively, you can lay the gingerbread out on paper towels on a flat surface instead.
9. Let the gingerbread rest
Once fully cooled, arrange them in an airtight bag or a lidded container. Ideally, do not stack them in one high pile (as I foolishly did) — the biscuits can crack or deform.

A gingerbread becomes itself only after a day of rest. Given time to “sit and dream”, the flavour settles and deepens — the spices and honey come through far more clearly.

MAKING THE ROYAL ICING

10. Combine the ingredients
In a dry, clean bowl, mix the cold egg white with the cream of tartar using a spoon. Add the icing sugar in portions, working it in slowly with the spoon, then switch to a hand mixer on the lowest speed for 6–8 minutes. Add 1–2 tsp lemon juice and mix gently for another couple of minutes.
It is the slow rubbing-in of the sugar into the egg white at low speed — not whipping — that produces a glossy, thick, pure white icing without bubbles.

You should see firm peaks forming on the whisk — they should hold their shape well.
11. Adjust the icing to the desired consistency
How to check the consistency
Counting method — Draw a line through the surface of the icing with a spoon and count how many seconds it takes for the line to disappear. The faster it vanishes, the thinner the icing.
3–5 seconds — thick icing (for outlines and raised details)
8–12 seconds — medium consistency (for flooding and smooth coverage)
15–20 seconds — thin icing (for large surfaces)
Spoon method — Scoop up some icing and let it fall back into the bowl in a thin ribbon:
If it sits in ridges and does not spread — the icing is thick, for outlining.
If the ribbon stays visible for 3–5 seconds and then slowly blends in, this is a medium, universal consistency.
If it disappears immediately, the icing is thin.
Transfer the thick icing into a piping bag for outlining. Loosen the remaining icing with drops of cold water until it reaches a flooding consistency. If you overshoot and add too much water, correct it by adding 1 tsp of icing sugar.
💡 Royal icing is extremely sensitive to moisture, so the water must be added gradually and with care. Even a single extra drop can change the texture. It helps to keep a small dish of water and a clean teaspoon beside you — this allows precise control and prevents over-thinning.
Here I mistakenly whipped the icing at a high speed, which is why you can see air bubbles trapped in the piping bags.
12. Outlining and flooding
Work on the smooth side of the biscuit — the one that took the imprint from the perforated mat. Snip a very small opening in the piping bag with scissors and begin decorating. A scribe tool is extremely helpful: it evens out lines and fine details, removes air bubbles, joins layers or creates “wet-on-wet” patterns, and helps distribute the icing within the outline.
Don’t forget to pipe a contour around the ribbon hole as well — this acts as a barrier so the flooding icing does not run into it.

After outlining, take the bag with the flooding icing and snip the tip — slightly wider than on the outlining bag. It is better to start small: if the opening is too narrow, you can always enlarge it, whereas an opening that is too wide will cause the icing to pour out too quickly.
To help the flooding spread evenly, tap the biscuit gently on the work surface with a short, dropping motion. This not only levels the icing but also forces some of the trapped air bubbles to rise to the surface. Any remaining bubbles can then be removed with a scribe or a wooden toothpick.

Leave the gingerbread to dry for 24 hours so the icing can set completely. Avoid placing them near direct heat or bright sunlight — the icing may crack or turn yellow.
I wanted a white-on-white design — it looks delicate, restrained and elegant. For accents, I used edible silver sugar pearls and a light dusting of plain sugar, which gave a subtle sparkle and added texture.

13. Storing the gingerbread
Once they are fully dry, store them in an airtight container or a sealed bag.
The ribbons I used were very narrow — 3 mm wide — in a soft, milky shade.
When the gingerbread is hung on the tree, you may notice the icing taking on a slight yellow tint over time. This is normal — real pine releases essential oils and resin vapours which settle on the icing and create a faint film. Warmth and humidity speed this up, and constant light and heat from the fairy lights also contribute.

VARIATIONS IN THICKNESS & BAKING TIME

5 mm  (6–7 min) — for the tree; firm and slightly crisp
6–7 mm  (7–8 min) — a balance of crisp edges and a soft centre
8 mm  (8–9 min) — soft and puffy
10 mm  (9–10 min) — almost like little cakes; cool longer on the tray
COMMON ISSUES & QUICK FIXES
Dough stretches in thin strands and sticks — add flour 1 tbsp at a time
Dough is stiff and crumbly — mix in 1–2 tsp warm liquid (35–40 °C / 95–104 °F), wrap and rest 20–30 min
Baking soda did not foam — reheat the mixture briefly to 85–90 °C (185–194 °F) for 5–10 s
Icing full of bubbles — work on the lowest speed, do not whip
💡 This article was created based on the video recipe by the Sweet and Joy channel, with the technical details later cross-checked using ChatGPT. The text and photos are my original work. I kindly ask for respectful use of the materials and prior agreement in case of commercial use.
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Tim Fjord

Nice one 🇬🇧💙

або Скасувати