Sugar Cookie Christmas Tree Table Decoration

You will need a 10 ounce paper cup, paraffin, a ¼ inch wooden dowel 8 inches long, a set of star cookie cutters in several sizes - or one large star cutter and a sharp non-serrated knife, sugar cookie dough, colored sugar in red and green, regular and jumbo-sized gumdrops, icing (optional), a straw, cardboard, ribbon, a single hole punch and foil in any combination of aluminum, red and green.

Melt about ¼ cup of paraffin in a double boiler and pour into the bottom of the paper cup. Quickly insert the cut end of the dowel into the hot wax, holding it so it stays centered and straight, until the wax has set enough to hold it upright. This is the trunk of your tree. Cut a 6 inch square of foil and place underneath the cup. Draw the corners up toward the trunk, twist and tie in place.

Using the cookie cutters as templates, trace and cut out cardboard stars in 6 sizes. Cover each star in foil. Use the hole punch to cut out the centers of each star. Use the straw to poke holes through all the green jumbo gumdrops and slide drops onto the dowel, pressing them down to the bottom, until the top one just clears the twisted foil. Slide the largest star down the dowel until it rests on the top drop.

Roll out cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out 2 cookies of each size. If you only have one large cutter, cut 6 cookies and then use your knife to trim each cookie ¼ inch smaller than the previous one until you have 6 sizes. Dip each cookie in the sugar, alternating by size, red-green-red-green. Bake according to package or recipe.

While the cookies are still warm, use the straw to cut out the centers. Allow the cookies to cool. Slide one of the largest size onto the cardboard on the dowel. Slide the second one on top of the first, with the points lined up to the spaces of the star below. Place small gumdrops on each point of the cookies. Slide another jumbo drop and then the next cardboard star onto the dowel.

Repeat the layering steps with each subsequent size cookie, until you reach the top. If desired, use icing to create "snow" on the edges of the cookies. Use the straw to poke a hole halfway through a yellow jumbo gumdrop and place it on top of the dowel to finish the tree.