Christmas baking - help with cookies please!

[MollyBerry]

So I was doing some practice Christmas baking today and tada! However, I need some tips please :)

The cookie tree was wonky and I think I've stuck it together as much as I can so I don't think it'll fall but it still looks wonky. I think this might be to do with the cookies not being totally flat to start off with.

I used this recipe
www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2011/06/basic-sugar-cookie-recipe-2/

Does anyone have any tips on how to get them flat?

Also, I'd appreciate any decorating tips to make it a bit more snazzy. I've thought of glitter, silver balls etc - am I missing anything?

I think they look lovely!

I made these last year (Lakeland cutters) and cut each shape twice for a taller tree, and it looked very organized, because of the repeat pattern.

roll out the cookie dough to about a quarter of an inch - if too thick it will rise too much, especially in the middle

depending on how you want to display it here's an idea:
mix desiccated coconut with green food colouring and royal icing sugar (needs to be a quite thick & sticky mixture) and cover/spread each biscuit. it will look awesome, like proper pine needles - plus it will help even out the surface of biscuits.

wait for them to dry then assemble and decorate.

btw I made the trees out of ginger biscuits, let me know if you want the recipe.

Thanks for the coconut tips Zing and I'd love the recipe! I have issues with roll out cookies in that they always seem to be really mushy when uncooked and hard to cut out.

I'd half or leave out the baking powder, you'll get a flatter, crisper biscuit, which I actually prefer.

But I think your trees look fab and homemade things should never look too perfect!

I read that baking powder may be an issue but also if you put less in they're prone to spread - do you not find that happens?

Not noticed that myself, looks like you'll have to do another test batch...

if reduced, any raising agent will cause less rise (sorry for stating the obvious) so the biscuits shouldn't spread while baking.

another tip is that if you use butter put the mix in the fridge for half an hour (or a day even, I like to prepare in advance!!) so it firms up ss the butter gets colder and more solid.

I use a 1 l size icecream box, turn out the cake mix and cut 1cm slices - so much easier to roll out then a huge lump!
plus easier to controll thickness and you get lovely "sharp" edges when cutting out the shapes.

I'll link the recipe later.

(I used the green coconut before for grass around a football cake and once as field for a cow cake - little plastic cows eating sugar flowers on the "pasture" looked gorgeous!)

mothership

yes, another test batch - for us to taste!

gingerbread recipe here

Thanks Zing!

I'm doing a batch of choc chip cookies tonight - all welcome to have one (if I haven't scoffed them myself)

You could put it here too and then I think we can review it :) www.mumsnet.com/Recipes?call=AddRecipeForm

It looks like a huge amount of baking powder in the recipe for cookies. Purpose of baking powder in cookie recipes is to give crispness, not rise.

I assume you used plain flour as well?

I would only use a pinch of baking powder for that quantity of flour.

I thought that too but she writes
"There is a lot of leavener in these cookies. This is not a typo. The general rule is less leavener so they don’t spead, but I’ve never been one to follow the rules. "

I wonder if they spread because of the high butter content (even for sugar cookies)

TBH I'd try another recipe, maybe a British one? I always find US recipes never work out for me, even with US cups.

It wasn't a spread issue more a rising issue. I think I will definitely try with less leavened but also try Zing's recipe.

With US recipes I convert into g and use them as I hate cops

@ I hate cops

brilliant typo!

Didn't see that at all!! My fingers and my iphone are not friends...