If you’re looking for a fun and festive treat to make for the holidays, these Christmas Tree Brownies are the perfect choice! They are ideal for a Christmas party, a homemade festive gift or a fun Christmas baking project to entertain children on a rainy December afternoon.
These Christmas Tree Shaped Brownies are such a fun and simple bake to make with kids during the Christmas holidays. They aren’t just for children though – grown ups will love them too!
ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Christmas Tree Brownies:
- A batch of my easy chocolate brownies (full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of this post)
- Green Icing – you could buy this, but I made my own with icing sugar, water and green food colouring paste.
- Christmas-themed sprinkles, such as pearls, baubles and gold stars OR M&Ms/Smarties
- Candy Canes cut into small “tree trunk” pieces
how to make Christmas tree brownies
Please scroll to the end of the post to find a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions. The steps below are just a visual guide.
1.Bake the Brownies. Melt good quality dark chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. When the mixture has completely melted, remove from the heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside.
2. Using a stand mixer or electric whisk, beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture has a least doubled in volume and is thick and pale. When you lift the beaters, it should leave a “ribbon” trail.
3. Pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture and lightly fold in until everything is incorporated.
4. Fold in plain flour and cocoa until just combined. You should have a thick brownie batter.
5. Spoon the brownie batter into a greased and lined 22cm square baking tin. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the brownie looks set on top. It should still wobble slightly in the middle.
6. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
7. Cut into triangles – Cut the completely cooled brownie into triangles. I had taken photos of this, but unfortunately my phone decided to pack in this week and I lost them!!
You will have brownie offcuts, but this is hardly a problem. They all get eaten in my house! Or you could save them to make my chocolate brownie trifle….
8. Time To Decorate – This is very simple. You just need to make an icing with icing sugar, a little water and some green food colouring gel or paste.
When it comes to piping, I’m afraid my hands are not as steady as they used to be, so I used these very handy Kitchen Craft Icing Bottles. They were the perfect tool for the job.
9. Spoon the icing into the bottle, attach the nozzle and starting from the bottom of the “tree”, pipe the icing in a zigzag.
10. Decorate with your sprinkles or sweets, as minimal or over the top as you wish! I love these cute little gold stars for the top of the trees.
11. To complete the Christmas trees, I used broken pieces of candy canes to make the trunks of the trees.
can i use a box of chocolate brownie mix?
Sure! If you are pushed for time and would rather use a box of brownie mix, then please go for it.
storing
These Christmas Tree Brownies will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days (potentially!) but they are at their best eaten within a day or two.
can they be frozen?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing the decorated brownies, but you could freeze the brownies before decorating. Once they are completely cold, cut them into triangles, then place them in an airtight freezer safe box or food bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to decorate, remove them from the freezer and allow to defrost (this will take 2-3 hours.)
more christmas recipes to try
Christmas Tree Brownies
These fudgy Christmas Tree Brownies are such a fun festive bake! They are a perfect Christmas dessert for anyone who doesn't like Christmas cake or mince pies.
Ingredients
- For the Brownies:
- 95g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 25g cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 115g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 170g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 220g caster (superfine) or granulated sugar
- To Decorate:
- 150g Icing Sugar
- Cold Water
- Green Food Colour paste or gel (see notes below for the brand I used)
- Christmas Sprinkles
- Gold Star Decorations
- Candy Canes for the trunks, optional
Instructions
- Make the Brownies: Preheat the oven the 180C/160Fan/350F. Grease a 9-inch (23cm) square baking tin and line with baking paper so it extends over two sides (so you can easily lift the brownie out later.)
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder and salt /together in a medium bowl. Set aside
- Melt the butter and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate and butter are completely melted, remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside while you whisk the eggs and sugar.
- Using a stand mixer or hand held electric whisk, whisk the sugar and eggs for at least 5 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and pale.
- Carefully fold in the melted chocolate, being careful not to knock out the air. Once the chocolate is incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients. When the batter is smooth and shiny, pour into the lined tin and level it out using a spatula.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top of the brownie has set. Allow to cool completely in the tin.
- When the brownie is completely cold (I like to refrigerate it overnight) cut into 8 triangles. The offcuts are the bakers treat!
- To Decorate: Sieve the icing sugar in a medium bowl and add a tiny amount of cold water, a drop at a time, until you have a thick icing. It must be thick, or it will just run off the brownie when you pipe it on.
- Add the green food colouring, a tiny amount at a time, until you're happy with the colour. The paste I used is very strong, so I only needed about 1/2 teaspoon.
- Place the icing in the icing bottle (if you don't have one, you can use a piping bag with a fine tip nozzle or just place the icing in a small clear plastic food bag and make a tiny cut in the corner!)
- Starting from the bottom, pipe the icing in a zigzag shape up the "trees" until you reach the very top.
- Decorate the trees with your sprinkles or sweets and place the gold stars at the top.
- If you're using the candy canes, snap them into small pieces and push them into the base of each brownie to make the "trunk".
- Place your Christmas Tree Brownies on a plate and serve!
Notes
I used this food colour gel to make the icing.
I used these gold star cake decorations to adorn the top of the trees.
My sprinkles were by Dr Oetker - Gold and Silver Mix" and "Bright and Bold Mix."
I used these Icing Bottles from Kitchen Craft to pipe on the icing.
If you're struggling to find Christmas sprinkles, you can use colored round sweets, such as M&M's or Smarties instead.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 352Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 2gSugar: 46gProtein: 3g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.