Apple Tree Cookie
Celebrate the joy of apple season with these delightful butter cookies, piped into charming little apple trees! With buttery, melt-in-your-mouth dough tinted green for the leaves and cocoa-kissed for the tree trunk, these whimsical cookies are as fun to make as they are to eat. Red chocolate candy become sweet little apples nestled among the “branches,” while brown and green candy melts transform into delicate stalks and leaves. Perfect for fall gatherings, these apple tree cookies are a tasty way to bring a little orchard magic to your kitchen. Bake a batch and watch your guests' faces light up with delight!
Ingredients:
170g butter (room temperature, softened)
90g icing sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
35g egg white (from a medium egg)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
260g cake flour
A few drops of green gel food color
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (for the tree trunk)
Red chocolate candies like m&s and smarties (for the apples)
Red candy melts (to attach the apples)
Brown candy melts (stalk) Green candy melts (leaf)
Instructions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, salt, and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla paste and egg whites, mixing until well combined. Gradually add cake flour to the wet ingredients, mixing until the dough forms a soft, pliable consistency.
2. Divide the dough into two portions: 150g for the tree trunk and the remaining for the tree. Add green gel food color to the larger portion and mix until the desired shade of green is reached. For the smaller portion, add cocoa powder and mix until fully combined.
3. Preheat the oven to 140°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a Wilton Star Tip 4B, fill a piping bag with the cocoa dough and pipe the tree trunk, about 3 cm long. Then, using a Wilton Star Tip 2D, fill another piping bag with the green dough and pipe star-shaped clusters to form the tree. Make sure you press enough dough to create some height otherwise the cookie will be very flat.The tree should be about 8 cm tall with a 3 cm trunk.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Melt red candy melts and use them to attach red Smarties as apples. Add details like stalks and leaves with brown and green candy melts, using a toothpick to apply them. Let the decorations set before serving.
Enjoy these whimsical apple tree cookies at your next gathering or as a thoughtful homemade gift!