delicious TREE-TS

Add edible greenery to this year's dessert table with ideas that range from easy to extravagant.

- KAREN TACK

SPEARMINT FOREST

Heat oven to 350°F. Coat insides of metal Christmas tree cookie cutters with nonstick cooking spray; place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Arrange green mint candies (we used Starlight spearmints) inside cutters, breaking as necessary and leaving space in between. Bake until melted, 5 to 6 min. Let cool completely, then gently pop out trees.

Red Velvet Christmas Tree Cake

ACTIVE 4 HR. TOTAL 4 HR. PLUS CHILLING ✦ SERVES 4

For cakes

Nonstick cooking spray

2 13.25-oz boxes red velvet cake mix

6 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups buttermilk

For frosting and decorating

7 large egg whites

3 cups sugar

7 sticks (1/4 lbs) unsalted butter, at room temp

2 tsp pure vanilla extract Green gel food coloring

2 Tbsp small red sprinkles Small wafer snowflakes

1 sparkler candle Christmas Gnomes (recipe at womansday .​com/christmasgnomes)

1 Make cakes: Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-in. and two 8-in. round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment paper. Spray 1-cup ovensafe liquid measuring cup.

2 Prepare cake mixes per pkg. directions, substituting buttermilk for water.

3 Spoon 2/3 cup batter into prepared measuring cup. then 2 cups batter into each prepared 9-in. pan and 1/4 cups into each prepared 8-in. pan. Smooth tops. Bake, in batches if necessary, 18 to 20 min for all pans; 20 to 25 min for measuring cup. Transfer to wire racks and let cool 10 min. Invert and remove cakes; let cool completely.