Christmas Tree Brownies
These homemade chocolate brownies are cut into triangles and decorated with green frosting and festive sprinkles. A fun and easy treat for the holidays!
This post contains affiliate links. Read the disclosure policy.
Table of Contents
- About Christmas Tree Brownies
- What do you need to make Christmas Tree brownies?
- Do you have to use self-rising flour?
- What type of food coloring should you use?
- Can Christmas tree brownies be made in advance?
- Can you freeze Christmas tree brownies?
- More fun Christmas recipes
- How to make Christmas tree brownies
- Recipe Details
About Christmas Tree Brownies
Holidays are the perfect time to have a little fun, and what better fun is there than fun with food? It’s a win-win!
These Christmas tree brownies are not only extremely festive for Christmas, but are deceptively easy to make. All you need is a good brownie recipe (check), some frosting (double check), and a motivation to decorate (triple check).
What do you need to make Christmas Tree brownies?
- Baked brownies – You can either follow the recipe listed here OR you can make from-the-box box brownies. Use whatever you prefer.
- Frosting – This recipe also includes a recipe for homemade buttercream frosting, but feel free to use whatever type (storebought or homemeade) that you’d like.
- Straws – Used as a holder for eating, this makes these Christmas tree brownies almost like brownie pops.
- Festive sprinkles or candy – This adds decorations to the Christmas tree, completing the look. Use whatever types (shapes, balls, etc) you think would make the best edible Christmas tree decorations.
Do you have to use self-rising flour?
While you can use any brownie recipe for these fun treats, there is a brownie recipe included on this page – and it has self-rising flour listed in the ingredients.
Self-rising flour is different than all-purpose flour, as self-rising flour has baking powder and salt already added to it. This is a common combination to see in baking recipes, and using self-rising flour is just an easy way to get all three ingredients in one shot. Typically, a recipe that uses self-rising flour won’t call for additional flour, salt, or baking powder. And finally, self-rising flour typically has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, so baked goods using it tend to be softer.
All that being said, if you don’t have (or don’t want to buy) self-rising flour, you can easily make a similar version at home.
For every one cup of self-rising flour, you can substitute with:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
This specific recipe calls for two cups of self-rising flour, so to substitute, you would need two cups of all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
What type of food coloring should you use?
If you’re making the homemade buttercream frosting, you can either leave it white (white Christmas trees are pretty, too!) or you’ll need to add some food coloring to get the right hue for the tree.
This can come down to personal preference between liquid, gel, etc (you can read more about the different types of food coloring and when to use them here) but the end goal is all about color. Use the type that gets you the best color for your project.
The color photographed in these pictures is gel food coloring in “irish green.” Using this color or any color that makes a reference to a plant (leaf, forest, etc) should get you a color that will be festive enough for these Christmas tree brownies.
Can Christmas tree brownies be made in advance?
Yes, they totally can!
Once prepared and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, these holiday treats should last two to four days. For best results of a good first impression, aim to refrigerate them no longer than two days.
Can you freeze Christmas tree brownies?
The answer to this question is yes, but with some stipulations. The two main parts of this recipe (the brownie and the frosting) should be prepared and frozen separately for best results.
The undecorated brownie base and the buttercream frosting can be frozen in separate sealed containers or freezer bags for up to three months.
More fun Christmas recipes
How to make Christmas tree brownies
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – Get ready to bake by spraying a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Be generous with the spray; you’ll need the whole, uncut brownie to slide out of the baking dish in order to cut the Christmas tree shapes.
Step 2 – Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer and a large bowl), whip together the egg and sugar, then mix in the flour, heavy whipping cream, cocoa powder, vegetable oil, and baking soda until combined into a thin batter.
Step 3 – Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, making sure the top is level.
Step 4 – Bake!
Step 5 – Let the brownies cool for at least one hour before attempting to remove them from the pan. When ready, drape a towel over the top of the baking dish, then hold the towel to the top of the brownies while you gently flip the dish over. Place the dish on a flat surface and gently shake until the brownie releases from the dish.
Step 6 – When ready to decorate, whip up the frosting by mixing the butter, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and green food coloring.
Step 7 – Add the frosting to a pastry bag (or a ZipLoc bag with the corner cut out) and get to assembling! Cut the brownie into triangle shapes. If the brownie is thick enough, you can cut them in half to double the amount of Christmas trees you can make (but it’s not required). Insert a paper straw in the bottom of the triangles, then decorate the trees with frosting and Christmas sprinkles.
Step 8 – Chill the Christmas tree brownies for at least one hour before serving.
Step 9 – Enjoy!
Christmas Tree Brownies
Ingredients
Chocolate Tree Brownies
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- paper straws, cut into thirds
- Christmas sprinkles
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon green food coloring
Instructions
For the Chocolate Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, then set aside. NOTE: For easier removal, you can line the baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil before spraying with cooking spray.
- Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer + large bowl), whip together eggs and sugar together on medium speed until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- Pause mixing and add the self-rising flour, heavy whipping cream, cocoa powder, vegetable oil, and baking soda. Mix ingredients together on medium speed until combined, about 3-5 minutes.2 cups self-rising flour, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pour brownie batter into the prepared baking dish, smoothing out into an even layer if needed.
- Bake brownies for 45 minutes or until a tester toothpick comes out clean with no crumbs.
- Let brownies cool completely in pan until ready to decorate (about 1 hour).
For the Buttercream Frosting
- While brownies cool, using a stand mixer (or hand mixer + large bowl), whip the butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.1 cup salted butter
- Drop mixer speed to low and add powdered sugar in small batches, mixing inbetween.1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and green food coloring. Whip until color of frosting is bright and consistent.1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon green food coloring
Putting it All Together
- Remove brownies from baking dish (grip the edges of parchment paper and lift up). Transfer brownies to a clear work area.
- Cut the brownie into triangles. You can do this by hand or use a cookie cutter or stencil. If desired (and if brownie is thick enough) you can cut the thickness of each brownie triangle in half, doubling the number of brownie trees you can create.
- Insert a paper straw into the bottom center of each brownie triangle.paper straws
- Using a pastry bag (or a Ziploc bag with a hole in the corner), pipe the buttercream frosting across the brownie triangles in a decorative pattern, imitating Christmas strands. Sprinkle or press Christmas sprinkles into the frosting.Christmas sprinkles
- Refrigerate Christmas tree brownies for at least one hour before serving.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
