A gingerbread house is a lovely idea right up until the walls slide off the roof at 11pm on December 23rd. A gingerbread Christmas tree is the easier, sturdier cousin. You bake a set of star-shaped cookies in different sizes, stack them from biggest to smallest with a dab of icing between each one, twist every layer a little, and you end up with a tree about 10 inches tall that looks like it came out of a bakery window.
No walls, no templates to tape together, no structural engineering. If you can roll out cookie dough, you can make this. Below is the dough we use (it bakes firm enough to stack but still tastes like proper gingerbread), how to build the tree step by step, and a handful of other gingerbread Christmas tree ideas for when you want something different.
Quick facts: 1 stacked tree about 10 to 11 inches (25 to 28 cm) tall, serves 12 · 40 minutes hands-on · 1 hour chilling · 8 to 12 minutes per tray · you’ll need a set of graduated star cookie cutters
Planning a whole holiday table? This tree sits with the cookies and treats in our Christmas recipes collection.
What You Need Before You Start
The only special tool is a set of nesting star cookie cutters, the kind that comes in 8 to 10 sizes. They’re cheap and easy to find in December. You cut two stars of each size, so a 9-cutter set gives you 18 layers plus a little star for the top.
No star cutters? Print a set of stars from about 1½ inches up to 6 inches wide on paper, cut them out and use them as templates with a small sharp knife. Slower, but it works.
You’ll also need a batch of royal icing to glue the layers and decorate. Royal icing sets hard, which is what keeps a tall stack from leaning. Buttercream stays soft, so the tree slowly tilts as it sits.
Gingerbread Dough for Stacking (US and Metric)
Soft, puffy gingerbread is lovely to eat, but it makes a wobbly tree. This dough has less baking soda and a bit more flour than a soft cookie, so the stars bake flat and keep sharp points.
| Ingredient | US | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose (plain) flour | 3 cups | 375 g |
| Ground ginger | 1 tbsp | 6 g |
| Ground cinnamon | 2 tsp | 5 g |
| Ground cloves | ½ tsp | 1 g |
| Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) | ½ tsp | 3 g |
| Unsalted butter, soft | ½ cup | 115 g |
| Dark brown sugar | ½ cup, packed | 100 g |
| Molasses (or black treacle) | ½ cup | 170 g |
| Large egg | 1 | 1 |
Plus ¼ teaspoon salt. In the UK, golden syrup can replace up to half of the treacle if you prefer a milder flavour and a lighter colour.
How to Make the Gingerbread Stars
1. Make the dough. Whisk the flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a bigger bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar for a couple of minutes, then beat in the molasses and the egg. Add the dry ingredients in two goes and mix until a soft dough forms. It will be sticky. That’s normal.
2. Roll it, then chill it. Split the dough in half and roll each piece between two sheets of baking paper to about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Rolling before chilling is much easier than fighting a cold, hard block. Stack the sheets on a tray and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Cut two of every size. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C), or 160°C fan. Cut two stars of each size, plus one extra of the smallest for the top. Re-roll scraps once and chill them again before cutting. Leftover dough makes gingerbread men or extra small stars for gifting.
4. Bake by size. Put similar sizes on the same tray, because the small ones are done long before the big ones. Small stars take 7 to 9 minutes, medium about 9 to 10, and the biggest 11 to 12. They’re ready when the edges are firm and the centres no longer look shiny.
5. Cool flat. Leave them on the tray for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack. Any star that puffed or spread can be trimmed with the same cutter while it’s still warm and soft.
How to Stack a Gingerbread Christmas Tree
Do this on the plate or board you’ll serve it on, because a finished tree doesn’t like being moved.
Lay out the stars in order from biggest to smallest so you’re not hunting for the next size mid-build. Pipe a small blob of royal icing in the centre of the plate and set the largest star on it.
Pipe, stack, twist. Pipe a coin-sized dot of icing in the middle of the star, add the next one and turn it so its points sit between the points of the star underneath. Keep going. That little twist is what makes it look like branches instead of a pile of cookies.
Check it’s straight every four or five layers by looking at it from eye level. If it’s starting to lean, add a bit more icing on the low side of the next layer to correct it.
Top it off. Stand the last small star upright on a thick dot of icing and hold it for 30 seconds. Leave the tree alone for an hour so the icing can set before you decorate.
Decorate. Pipe little drips of thinner icing off each star tip so it looks like snow, add silver or gold sugar pearls and finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar through a sieve.
More Gingerbread Christmas Tree Ideas
The stacked star tree is the classic, but the same dough works for all of these.
| Idea | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Mini star trees | Use only the 5 smallest cutters, one of each size | Place settings, one per guest |
| 3D slotted tree | Cut two flat tree shapes, slit one from the top and one from the bottom, slide together | Kids, cookie boxes |
| Snowy forest | Three trees of different heights on a board covered in shredded coconut | Dessert table centrepiece |
| Ornament tree | Press a hole in small stars before baking, thread with ribbon and hang | Decorating the real tree |
| Stained glass tree | Cut a window from each star, fill with crushed hard candy, bake | Sitting in front of a window or fairy lights |
| Candy-covered tree | Pipe green royal icing on each layer and stick on gumdrops before stacking | A gingerbread take on Candy Land trees |
Making It Ahead for Christmas 2026
Christmas Day is a Friday this year, which makes for an easy plan. Bake the stars the weekend of December 12 or 13 and keep them in an airtight tin. Stack and decorate the tree on the weekend of December 19 and 20, and it will look its best on the 25th. Undecorated stars also freeze well for up to a month.
Once it’s built, keep the tree somewhere cool and dry, away from the stove and the kettle. Steam and humidity soften both the gingerbread and the icing. Loosely covered, a stacked tree stays good to eat for about a week, and keeps looking nice for display a while longer.
Gingerbread Tree Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Stars spread and lost their points | Dough got warm before baking | Put the cut stars in the freezer for 10 minutes before they go in the oven |
| Tree leans | Domed cookies or soft icing | Press warm stars flat with a spatula, use stiff royal icing |
| Stars too soft to stack | Underbaked or rolled too thick | Give them 1 to 2 more minutes, roll to an even ¼ inch |
| Dough cracks when rolling | Too cold | Leave it on the counter for 10 minutes first |
Nutrition Per Serving
An estimate for one serving when the whole tree, icing included, is shared between 12 people. Figures are worked out from the ingredients and will change with how much icing and how many sugar pearls you use.
| Per serving (1/12) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | about 300 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 53 g |
| of which sugars | 31 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
Where Gingerbread Trees Come From
Gingerbread has been shaped into figures and decorations in Europe for centuries, and Germany’s Lebkuchen bakers made it part of Christmas markets long before anyone was building houses out of it. The stacked star tree is a newer idea, but it comes from the same place: a sturdy, spiced dough that holds a shape and keeps for days.
If you love the flavour but don’t fancy building anything, our Gramercy Tavern gingerbread cake is the soft, sliceable version. And for a full tray of holiday baking to go with your tree, add some Danish butter cookies and pecan pie cookies.
Gingerbread Christmas Tree FAQ
How many star cookies do I need for a gingerbread tree?
Two of each size from a set of 8 to 10 graduated cutters, so 16 to 20 stars, plus one small star for the top. That gives a tree about 10 to 11 inches tall.
What holds a gingerbread Christmas tree together?
Stiff royal icing. It dries hard, so the layers can’t slide. Melted chocolate works in a pinch, but keep the tree somewhere cool.
Can you eat a gingerbread tree after it’s been on display?
Yes, within about a week if it’s been kept covered and away from heat and steam. After that it’s better as decoration.
Can I make it without star cutters?
Yes. Use paper star templates and a small knife, or use round cutters of different sizes for a softer, snowball-style tree.
Gingerbread Christmas Tree (Stacked Star Cookies)
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 375 g
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger 6 g
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 115 g, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 100 g, packed
- 1/2 cup molasses 170 g, or black treacle
- 1 large egg
- 1 batch royal icing stiff consistency, about 2 cups
- 2 tablespoons silver or gold sugar pearls
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting
Method
- Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar for 2 minutes, then beat in the molasses and egg. Add the dry ingredients in two additions and mix into a soft, sticky dough.
- Split the dough in half and roll each piece between two sheets of baking paper to 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C), or 160°C fan. Cut 2 stars of each size from a set of 8 to 10 graduated star cutters, plus 1 extra small star for the top.
- Bake similar sizes together: small stars 7 to 9 minutes, medium 9 to 10, large 11 to 12, until the edges are firm. Cool 5 minutes on the tray, then on a rack.
- On your serving plate, stack the stars from largest to smallest with a dot of royal icing between each layer, turning each star so its points sit between the points below.
- Stand the last small star upright on top. Let the icing set for 1 hour, then pipe icing drips on the tips, add sugar pearls and dust with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Notes
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!If you build one, come back and leave a star rating, and tell us how tall yours ended up. Share it with whoever usually takes charge of the gingerbread house in your family. This year they might be happy to switch.
