In Tools->Options: Instead of pruning the Options tree based on the search, just highlight the matched items in the tree. (Highlight the items that are currently left visible after pruning).
This doesn't even need to change what parts of the tree are expanded - as long as each parent item in the tree is also highlighted.
For example, search for "Color".
The following elements in the tree would be highlighted, not just "Color Coding"
Languages
Application Languages
C#
Color Coding
The highlighting should be a bit more than the Bold that tree items get when the tree item itself matches (e.g. currently "Color Coding" is bold, but "C#" is not).