Christmas Tree Brownies

The season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with Christmas-themed sweet things? We are making Christmas Tree Brownies today, so stay tuned if you want to see how to make those.

Why You’ll Love This

I definitely recommend this recipe, obviously! First off, it’s super good. These aren’t just dry cakey brownies; we’re melting chocolate, butter, and cream together for the base, so they are rich and fudgy. Plus, turning them into trees is a handy-dandy little technique that makes them look so impressive. Secretly, I already tasted the bits of off-cut brownie I couldn’t use, but it’s always better with the extra melted white chocolate on top. Just be warned: I was really scared to open my mouth after eating one because I thought I had gross chocolate teeth—they are that chocolatey!

Getting Everything Ready

I know the ingredient list can be a lot to take in, so I’ve listed everything clearly in the recipe card below.

Special Equipment/Instruments

• Square Baking Pan: 8×8 inch or 9×9 inch (metal preferred).
• Parchment Paper: For lining the pan.
• Bain-Marie Setup: A saucepan with simmering water and a heat-proof glass or metal bowl that sits on top without touching the water.
• Whisk: Hand whisk is fine.
• Piping bag or Spoon: For drizzling the white chocolate.

Ingredients

The Brownie Base

• Dark Chocolate: 200 grams (approx. 7 oz), semi-sweet.
• Butter: 113 grams (1 stick), unsalted.
• Cream: ½ cup Full-fat cream (Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream).
• Sugar (White): ½ cup granulated sugar.
• Sugar (Brown): ¼ cup brown sugar (packed).
• Eggs: 3 large eggs.
• Vanilla: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Flour: ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons All-purpose flour.
• Salt: ¼ teaspoon.

The Decoration

• White Chocolate: 150 grams (approx. 5 oz), chopped bar or chips.
• Green Coloring: Green icing coloring (oil-based or powder recommended to prevent seizing, or use the creator’s method of adding before melting).
• Trunks: 8 Mini Peppermint Candy Canes (straight parts) or pretzel sticks.
• Sprinkles: Assorted holiday sprinkles.

Melting the Chocolatey Goodness

1. Get the water ready
Start with a pot of boiling water on your stove. (Tip: Boil the water in a kettle first to make it quicker and easier).

2. Set up the bowl
You’re going to melt the chocolate au bain-marie—which is just a fancy way of saying “put a heat-proof bowl over simmering water.”

3. Add the good stuff
Add the butter and cream to the dark chocolate right at the start. It’s sort of like making ganache, except with butter.

4. Melt it slowly
Melt the mixture nice and slowly so it doesn’t get burnt.

5. Dry it off immediately
Once it’s melted, take the bowl off the heat and dry the bottom on a tea towel immediately. You don’t want any water getting into the mixture because that could ruin the brownies!

Mixing and Baking

1. Whisk in the sugars
Once the chocolate mixture is ready, whisk in the sugars. This helps the mixture cool down a bit before you add the eggs.

2. Check the heat
If you aren’t sure if it’s cool enough, let it stand for a minute. The last thing you want is to ruin your whole brownie batter by having bits of cooked egg in your chocolate!

3. Mix the rest
After the eggs and vanilla go in, just mix the flour and salt until combined. That is all it takes!

4. Bake time
Pop it in the oven (preheated to 175°C / 350°F) for about 35 minutes.

Turning Brownies into Trees

1. Remove from the pan
Once they are baked and cooled, lift the brownies out using the baking paper.

2. Cut into rectangles
If you used a square pan, cut the whole block in half to make two long rectangles.

3. Shape the trees
Then, cut zig-zags across the rectangles to make triangles. This gives you about eight little Christmas trees.

Check out more Holiday recipes:

• My Absolute Favorite Soft Christmas Sugar Cookies!
• Peppermint Bark Candy (No-Bake)
• Get Ready for the Holidays with These Super Easy No-Bake Christmas Treats!

The Decoration: Watch Out for White Chocolate!

1. Choose your chocolate
For the green drizzle, use white chocolate. White chocolate is a very tricky thing to melt because the temperature where it burns is lower than dark chocolate. If you want an easier route, just use green candy melts!

2. Add color first (Crucial Tip!)
Add your green coloring to the white chocolate before you melt it. If you add liquid to already melted white chocolate, it will seize immediately and become all lumpy and gross.

3. Melt gently
Melt the mixture gently over the bain-marie again. The trick is to take it off the heat before it is completely melted and just stir it so it doesn’t overcook.

4. Decorate the trees
Swirl the green chocolate over the brownies to look like leaves, add some sprinkles, and stick a piece of candy cane in the bottom for the trunk.

5. Ready to eat
Your Christmas trees are done! Christmas tree, Christmas tree… I don’t know the lyrics to the song, but I know these taste delicious!

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Christmas Tree Brownies

Recipe by Sana Rei

Servings

8

Trees

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Calories

450

kcal

Rest time

30

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

25

minutes

Rich, fudgy brownies made with a luxurious chocolate-ganache base, cut into festive triangles and decorated with green white chocolate drizzles and candy cane trunks. A super cute and delicious holiday project!

Ingredients

• Equipment Needed

• 8×8 or 9×9 Square Baking Pan

• Parchment Paper

• Saucepan and Heat-proof Bowl (Bain-marie)

• Whisk

• Full ingredients list

• 200g Dark semi-sweet chocolate

• 113g Unsalted butter (1 stick)

• ½ cup Heavy cream (Full-fat)

• ½ cup White granulated sugar

• ¼ cup Brown sugar

• 3 Large eggs

• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

• ¾ cup + 2 tbsp All-purpose flour

• ¼ tsp Salt

• 150g White chocolate

• Green food coloring

• 8 Mini candy canes (or pretzels)

• Holiday sprinkles

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line a square baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, melt the dark chocolate, butter, and heavy cream together until smooth.
• Remove from heat and wipe the bottom of the bowl dry. Whisk in the white and brown sugars. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
• Stir in the flour and salt until just combined.
• Pour into the pan and bake for 30–35 minutes (max 40) until set but still fudgy.
• Allow to cool completely, then remove from pan. Cut the square in half, then cut triangles from the strips.
• Place white chocolate and green coloring in a clean bowl. Melt gently over simmering water. Remove from heat before fully melted and stir until smooth.
• Drizzle green chocolate over the brownies. Insert candy cane pieces into the bottom for trunks. Top with sprinkles.

Notes

• White Chocolate Warning: White chocolate burns easily and seizes if it touches water. Be very gentle with the heat.
• Coloring Tip: If using liquid coloring, add it to the solid white chocolate before melting to help prevent seizing. Alternatively, use oil-based candy coloring or green candy melts for a foolproof method.
• Cuts: The “off-cuts” (the edges left over after cutting triangles) are perfect for snacking while you decorate!