Snowflake Christmas Tree

To make the cookies, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy and well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time and beat until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts until blended, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture, about 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) at a time, and beat on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a ball, then flatten the balls into disks. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Position 1 rack in the upper third and 1 rack in the lower third of an oven. Preheat to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for a few minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out a dough disk 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. You will need a total of 2 cookies of each size, plus 1 extra of the smallest cookie to use as the topper, so cut out as many as you can from the first dough disk. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, grouping similar-size snowflakes together to ensure even baking and spacing them at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Gather up and reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Repeat with the remaining dough disks until you have a total of 21 cookies. (Note: You will need to bake the cookies in several batches in order to keep similar-size snowflakes together.)

Bake until the cookies are golden on the edges, 6 to 8 minutes, depending on their size. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

To make the icing, in a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup and lemon juice. The mixture should be very thick. Whisk in the milk 1/2 tsp. at a time as needed.

Transfer the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip; alternatively, fill a plastic bag with the icing, then snip off a corner. Decorate the cooled cookies as desired with the icing and sprinkle with sanding sugar or pearl sprinkles. Let the icing dry completely.

To assemble the cookie tree, stack the 2 largest snowflake cookies on a cake stand or serving platter, rotating the top cookie a quarter turn to create an offset look. Repeat with the remaining cookies, going from the next-largest to the smallest. To attach the topper, add a small dollop of icing to the top cookie, then place the remaining smallest cookie vertically on the icing and hold it there until it dries. Makes 1 snowflake tree.

Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen