Make your holidays extra festive with these fudgy Brownie Christmas Trees. Delicious and easy to make, this Christmas Brownies recipe is a crowd pleaser for your Christmas party!
Christmas carols are in heavy rotation and our holiday baking marathon is in full swing! We make our popular Almond Roca candy several times!
We love the holiday season. That's why we had to make these cute Christmas Tree Brownies. It's such an easy recipe.
We create them with fudgy brownies and vanilla frosting with M&M'S® candies as ornaments, making them the cutest holiday brownies ever!
They even have candy canes as a " tree trunk" for a hint of peppermint!
Try our other easy holiday treats, including Reindeer Chow, chocolatey Mashmallow Reindeer, and these Reindeer Brownies (we love festive Christmas brownies!!).
More Christmas treat recipes
- Reese's Reindeer - a cute sweet treat that's so easy to make!
- Christmas Kabobs - a healthier treat to serve during the holidays. Great for work parties.
- Christmas Cookies - decorated 3 festive ways!
- Christmas Crack - you'll want to make this salty and sweet recipe again and again!
- Crock Pot Candy - the most delicious chocolate peanut clusters!
How to make brownie Christmas trees
Since they are so heavenly, we use our homemade brownie recipe for the trees. (Please note that we doubled the batch.)
TIP: Bake your brownies with parchment paper lining the pan, so they're easy to remove.
Erin
However, you could easily grab a boxed mix if you prefer and are tight on time, but once you try homemade brownies, you can never go back 🙂
The same goes for the frosting; we like homemade frosting, but whatever flavor you prefer from a container is fine.
Step 1 - CUT BAKED BROWNIES
After your rich brownies are baked and cooled to room temperature, they need to be cut into triangles.
We find it best to use a plastic knife to cut the brownies.
How to cut brownies into triangles
- This can be a bit tricky, but the easiest way we find is to divide and cut the pan of brownies into thirds the long way.
- Then cut diagonally, making triangles down each third (depending on how big you make them, it should be about 8 per row). There will be extra at the ends, so use that to 'taste test' the batch 🙂
Step 2 - DECORATE
Place your brownies on a solid surface and create frosting ribbons starting at the bottom of the tree and working your way to the top.
Tip: Use a small plastic bag with a small hole cut in a corner, and pipe the frosting onto the trees. You can also use a pastry bag.
If you want green frosting, add a few drops of green food coloring to the white frosting.
Next, trim your tree with M&M'S ornaments (or candy of choice) and a candy cane trunk.
Seasonal red and green M&M'S make the perfect decorations for trees.
Finally, break the curved portion of a small candy cane off and insert the straight piece into the tree's bottom to make the trunk.
Tip: This step can also be done before you trim your trees with frosting and candy.
Ho Ho Ho, your holiday brownie recipe is finished!
Tips and tricks
- Use a plastic knife or a Christmas tree cookie cutter to make cutting your holiday brownies easier.
- To be even more festive, you can color your frosting green or red using food coloring.
- You can also use white chocolate to drizzle on your Christmas treats.
- Sprinkles are a great addition to your Holiday Brownie Trees.
- You can also use pretzel sticks as tree trunks.
- Make peppermint brownies by adding peppermint extract or peppermint essential oil to the brownie batter.
Storing your Christmas brownies
Refrigerator - because the frosting contains a little milk, we recommend storing your Brownie Christmas Trees in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.
You can also cover the baking pan in plastic wrap to store in the fridge.
We Love hearing from you
This recipe would be so cute to take to a cookie exchange or holiday party!
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Printable Recipe
Brownie Christmas Trees Recipe
Equipment
- plastic baggie
Ingredients
Brownies
- 2 ⅔ cups 2-10-oz. pkgs. dark chocolate morsels, divided
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup salted butter (cut into pieces)
- 4 tablespoons water
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Frosting
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup butter (slightly soft)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Decorations
- M&M’S candies
- Nonpareils (optional)
- small candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside ⅔ cup chocolate morsels.
- Heat 2 ⅔ cups morsels, sugar, butter, and water in a small saucepan over low heat, constantly stirring, until chocolate and butter are melted.
- Pour into a large bowl. Cool slightly. Stir in eggs, one at a time, with a whisk until blended. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add flour and salt; mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in remaining ⅔ cup morsels and nuts. Pour into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack.
- While brownies bake, make your frosting by mixing powdered sugar and butter in a medium bowl with a spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk.
- Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.
- Cut brownies into triangles. Break curved end of candy cane off and insert it into the bottom of the brownie tree. Decorate with ribbons of frosting by placing frosting in a plastic bag and snipping off the end, and piping it onto the brownies. Then finish by adding M&M’S. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can use a boxed mix of Brownies instead of homemade brownies.
- To be even more festive, you can color your frosting green or red using food coloring.
- Sprinkles are a great addition to your Holiday Brownie Trees.
- You can also use pretzel sticks as tree trunks.
Nutrition
This Christmas Brownie recipe was originally published on November 27, 2017. We updated with enhanced instructions on November 5, 2020.
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Laura Reese says
Such an easy way to take my brownies to the next level for the holidays!!
Beth says
These look so cute and fun! I can't wait to make these with my kids! So excited!
Erin Henry says
These trees are definitely fun and cute! Enjoy making them, Beth!
Betsy says
Aside from being delicious, these little brownie trees are just absolutely wonderfully fun! My kids LOVE these!
Erin Henry says
This is one of the most festive desserts that's easy to make! Kids do love them!
April says
These were a home run with my family and friends. My grandsons’ favorite treat for the holidays!
Erin says
so glad to hear it April! They are fun and definitely yummy!
Jillian says
These brownie Christmas trees are so cute and simple enough anyone can do. I will be adding this to my list of holiday desserts for the kiddos.
Erin says
These trees are a festive recipe to make up for the holidays for sure!
Claire says
What a gorgeous idea they look so simple but cute and delicious.