This beautiful cookie pyramid is decorated with an irresistible mascarpone cream and orange blossom-flavoured icing. For this showstopper, we recommend going all in glam by using an edible gold leaf as the pièce de résistance.
Almond Sugar Cookie Tree
Switch things up for the holidays with this eye-catching Sugar Cookie Tree, which is decorated with an irresistible mascarpone cream and orange blossom-flavoured icing. For this showstopper, we recommend going all in glam by topping with a sprinkling of edible gold leaf as the pièce de résistance.
Ingredients
- 220 g flour
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 50 g ground almonds
- 550 g icing sugar + extra for serving
- 325 g butter
- 1 egg + 1 egg white
- 125 g mascarpone
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water
- edible gold leaf optional
Instructions
- Add flour, cinnamon, allspice, almonds, 200 g of butter and 50 g of icing sugar in bowl of food processor and mix until sandy. Add whole egg and mix in spurts until dough forms a ball. Add a little flour if mixture is sticky. Let rest in fridge for 1 hour.
- Mix 125 g of butter with 250 g of icing sugar, mascarpone and liquid vanilla in bowl until smooth. Place in fridge.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll out dough on floured work surface. Cut out fluted discs of different diameters and 1 star, laying cookies on baking sheets as you work. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.
- Beat egg white in small saucepan. Add 250 g of icing sugar and orange blossom water, letting cook for 3 minutes, stirring with whisk.
- Place biggest cookie on dish and add a little of the mascarpone cream and icing. Repeat, placing cookies over top each other in decreasing size, adding cream and icing to each. Add edible gold leaf to the star and then attach the cookie to the top of the "tree" with cream. Sprinkle with icing sugar and refrigerate until cream is firm. Serve immediately.
Notes
Edible gold leaf can be found at many different stores. We use this one that's easily available at Amazon.
