1

In mixer on medium, beat sugar and margarine together until crumbly. Add 1 egg, corn syrup, lemon juice and vanilla; beat until smooth and pale in colour.

2

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Slowly beat flour mixture into margarine mixture until blended. Divide dough into four equal parts and flatten each quarter to form a round. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.

3

Preheat oven to 350 °F(180 °C)

4

Lightly spray baking sheet(s) with cooking spray. On a lightly floured board roll out one round to 1/4-1/8 inch thickness. With a lightly floured Christmas tree cookie cutter (about 2 inches tall), cut out cookies and transfer them, about 2 inches apart, to baking sheet(s); repeat with remaining dough.

5

Bake until golden brown on bottom, 5 to 9 minutes. Remove from the oven; cool completely.

6

For Royal Icing, in a large bowl whip egg whites and powdered sugar at low speed until sugar is moistened. Beat at high speed until glossy and stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 6 minutes. Divide icing depending on how many colours you want to use. Add food colouring to achieve desired tint. To decorate cookies place icing in a small plastic bag; snip a tiny hole off one corner of the bag. Pipe icing onto the cooled cookies to create tree-trimming designs and ornaments.

7

Yields 24 trees.