Christmas Cookie Tree

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease two baking trays and line with baking parchment.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs, vanilla and salt and mix well. Gradually add the flour and mix until incorporated. Bring together into a dough, divide into 2 balls, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 3-4mm and cut out two cookies of each size, dipping the cutters in flour before each use. Arrange them on the prepared baking trays.
4. Bake the cookies on the middle shelf of the oven for about 12 minutes, or until firm and golden, swapping the trays over if necessary. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Add green colouring to royal icing and mix until you reach your desired shade. Add a small round nozzle to one of the disposable icing bags and spoon in your icing. Starting with the largest cookies at the base, stack your tree, piping icing onto each cookie as you go and adding a sprinkle of Christmas Glimmer Mini Pearls.
6. For a finishing touch, use the smallest cutter to cut out a star of white ready-to-roll icing. Glue this to one of the smallest cookies using Edible Glue, then prop it up with a small ball of icing to create your tree-topping star.