Gloriously green Christmas tree cookies made with natural colouring. These healthier biscuits are perfect to make with children and are suitable for vegans.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven would it?
While Christmas is definitely a time for sweet treats, that never stops me from trying to reduce the amount of sugar in our diets by creating healthier versions of our favourite treats.
Last year I brought you these healthier vegan gingerbread men.
This Christmas I’ve played around with this recipe and added some spirulina powder to make these cookies a lovely green colour - perfect for Christmas tree shapes.
I've decorated mine very simply - with melted chocolate drizzled in a zig zag shape, to represent the branches of the tree. I've then dusted them with some icing sugar, which I always think looks very pretty.
The Sneaky Veg kids absolutely adored these Christmas tree cookies - I hope you do too.
Easy to make - a great Christmas recipe to make with kids
These Christmas tree biscuits are pretty easy to make - and are a great one to get the children involved in baking with you.
Children can get involved with:
- weighing out ingredients
- mixing
- rolling out dough
- cutting out shapes
- decorating
- taste testing!
However, if you prefer you could make the dough yourself and get the children to cut out using cookie cutters.
Alternatively you could just let the children decorate the baked cookies.
What ingredients do you need to make your Christmas tree cookies?
Full ingredients list, quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ground chia seeds (or flax seeds)
These will be mixed with cold water to form a chia “egg” to help bind your cookies together. You can also use flax seeds (linseeds).
Plain flour
I use standard white plain flour to make my gingerbread cookies.
Ground almonds
Adds a lovely flavour to your Christmas tree cookies.
Salt
This is optional but adds a touch of extra flavour.
Coconut oil
Melt your coconut oil to make these Christmas tree cookies.
Agave syrup, or maple syrup
Agave syrup, or pure maple syrup, are both natural sweeteners. Still sugar but a better option than golden syrup.
Ground ginger
One of the most important ingredients in this recipe, the ground ginger is what makes these cookies gingerbread and gives them a delicious flavour.
Spirulina powder
This is what makes your cookies green. What is spirulina? It is a type of algae, that's packed full of nutrients. It turns your cookie dough gloriously green - perfect for Christmas trees. It is however, optional. If you don't want your cookies to be green then you can simply leave it out.
Non-dairy milk
For example oat or almond milk.
Do you need any special equipment to make these cookies?
You will need the following equipment:
- blender (for grinding chia seeds)
- mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- rolling pin
- cookie cutters
- baking tray
- baking paper
Can you freeze this recipe?
You can freeze the uncooked dough. I often make this and freeze half of the batch for a later date.
Place in a freezer box and bag and label with the name and date. When you're ready to bake remove from the freezer and defrost in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Do these cookies stay green when you bake them?
When you make the dough it's a deep bright green colour. During baking this colour fades a little to a lighter green colour.
If you bake for too long then they'll start to turn golden brown so keep a close eye on them as they cook to retain the green colour.
Pin Christmas tree cookies for later
How to make vegan Christmas tree cookies
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Christmas tree cookies
Equipment
- Blender
- Mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- Rolling Pin
- Christmas tree cookie cutter
- baking tray
- baking paper
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons ground chia seeds or flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 325 g plain flour
- 75 g ground almonds
- Pinch salt optional
- 100 g coconut oil melted
- 75 g agave syrup or pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon spirulina powder
- 4-6 tablespoons non-dairy milk
To decorate
- 50 g dark chocolate melted, optional
- sifted icing sugar to decorate
Instructions
- Firstly make your chia eggs. Use a blender to grind your seeds then place 1.5 tablespoons of ground chia seeds in a small bowl and mix with 3 tbsp cold water. Stir and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
- Place 325g plain flour, 75g ground almonds, 100g melted coconut oil, 75g agave (or maple) syrup, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon spirulina powder and your chia eggs into a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- A spoonful at a time, add your milk, mixing as you go, until you have a soft dough that isn’t too sticky. You might not need to use all the milk so add it slowly.
- Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few moments until you have a smooth dough.
- Pop in an airtight container in the fridge for half an hour - doing this will make it easier to work with.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6. Line three baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough until it’s around 5mm thick. Cut into Christmas tree shapes using your cookie cutter.
- Put each cookie on the baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until just turning golden. The longer they cook the more chance there is of the green colour being replaced by brown so keep a close eye on them.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before decorating.
To decorate
- Use your favourite icing or sprinkles. Alternatively melt your chocolate and pipe or drizzle over your cookies in a zig zag pattern to represent the branches of the trees. Dust with sifted icing sugar if desired.
Nutrition
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