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Christmas Tree Brownies start with a chocolate fudge brownie mix and decorated with green frosting and colorful sprinkles for the ornaments. This easy Christmas recipe is so fun to make with kids (they can do most of it!) and they’re fun to eat with a decorative red or green straw as a brownie lollipop.
Easy Christmas Tree Brownies Recipe
It doesn’t get any easier than these Christmas Tree Brownies that start with a chocolate fudge brownie mix! Easy enough that kids can make most of it themselves and let the little hands decorate the trees however they like.
Fudge brownies bake up in a jelly roll pan and once baked they are cut into triangles (tree shaped) and then decorated with green frosting and colorful ornaments. Place a star on the very top to really make it resemble a Christmas tree.
You can leave the decorative straw out or use the straw and serve these as ‘Christmas tree brownie lollipops’!
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix – Make sure you buy the larger box that is labeled ‘family size’. It’s 18.4 ounces in size. Buy any brownie mix you love like milk chocolate, chocolate fudge, chocolate, dark chocolate, etc. The most important thing is the size of the box.
- Ingredients Called For On Brownie Box – This is typically oil, large eggs, and water.
- Green Icing/Frosting – You can make your own frosting and dye it green or make it really simple and buy a tub of green icing, vanilla icing that you dye green, or use green cookie icing. You can also make it really fancy and use a couple different colors like green, red, and white.
- Colorful Round Sprinkles – These are the ornaments on our brownie trees. You can also use any small candy that you have like mini m&m’s are another excellent choice, or try using both!
- Stars – These are sprinkles in a larger star shape. You can find them in the cake decorating aisle, baking aisle along with the other sprinkles, or try a craft store.
How to Make Brownies Look Like a Christmas Tree
Learn how to make these easy Christmas tree brownies with the simple steps below. Be sure and read to the bottom of the page where there is a printable recipe card and a pin it button so you can save it for later.
- Prep : Line a jelly roll pan (10″x15″ pan) with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Brownie Mix : Prepare the brownies according to package directions. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared jelly roll pan.
- Bake : Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remember, the brownie box will give directions for a 9×13 baking dish but we are using a larger jelly roll pan so the bake time will be less. Let the brownies cool completely.
- Christmas Trees : Cut the pan of brownies into 12 squares. Take each square out of the pan, place it onto a cutting board, and cut it into a triangle. Save the extra brownie pieces for snacking! Repeat with remaining brownie squares. Decorate each tree with green frosting and sprinkles for ornaments.
Substitution & Variation Ideas
There are several ways to switch up this recipe and a few substitute ingredients if you find yourself missing something. Here are some ideas!
- Frosting/Icing : Use homemade frosting. Buy a tub of green frosting or white frosting (dye it green) at the store. Use green cookie icing. You can also use a few different colors of icing to mix it up; try using red, green, and white icing in the zig zag pattern on the brownie tree.
- Flavor The Frosting : Add just a touch of mint extract or peppermint extract for a peppermint flavor. You can also add almond extract for a variation.
- Decorations : Use any sprinkles you want to decorate the trees with. You can also use any small shaped candies like colorful mini m&m’s or skittles. Or use candy + sprinkles!
- Straw : Inserting the straw into the bottom of the tree is totally optional. They’re fun to eat as a lollipop with the straw and they present really well. Use any colored straw that you want like red & green striped, white, red, or all green. Or just pick the tree up with your hands and eat it that way.
How To Store Leftovers
Store any leftovers at room temperature, covered in an airtight container, for up to 5 days. These are best served the day you make them!
Recipe Tips
Here are a few of my helpful tips so that you can have success recreating this recipe in your own kitchen ♥
- Brownie Mix Size : Use any brownie mix you want but make sure that it is the correct size! We want the larger family-size brownie mix that is 18.4 ounces.
- Jelly Roll Pan : Traditionally, you bake the brownies in a 9×13 baking pan but not this recipe. You need a jelly roll pan (10×15 inches) which is slightly smaller than a cookie sheet. You could try making the recipe in a 9×13 baking pan but they will be thicker and you won’t get as many Christmas trees.
- Allow Brownies To Cool Completely : It’s important to allow the brownies to cool completely before trying to cut them. Plan on at least 1 hour of cooling time.
- Make It Ahead of Time : If you want to make these ahead of time then prepare the brownies as directed and let them cool to room temperature. Cover the cooled pan with plastic wrap or foil and let them set out at room temperature overnight. Decorate and serve the next day.
More Fun Kid-Friendly Christmas Recipes You’ll Love
- Christmas Rolo Pretzels – Easy 3 ingredients Christmas treat. My kids love to unwrap (and steal a few!) of the Rolo candies.
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups – Sugar cookie base, Reese’s center for the hot cocoa, and topped with white frosting for the whipped cream and a candy cane for a stir stick.
- Grinch Punch – Classic movie made into a delicious punch!
- Melted Snowman Bark – Melted snowman with white chocolate.
- Christmas Cookie Pizza – Super fun & festive with all the candy.
- Oreo Fudge – So creamy and full of Oreo cookies!
Christmas Tree Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box (18.4 oz) chocolate fudge brownie mix
- Ingredients called for on brownie box
Brownie Tree Decorations
- green frosting/icing (store-bought OR homemade)
- colorful round sprinkles OR mini m&m's
- stars
- decorative party straws
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare a jelly roll pan (10" x 15" pan) by spraying it well with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper.
- Prepare the brownies according to the box instructions.* Most call for eggs, water, and oil.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared jelly roll pan.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool completely inside the pan. About 1 hour.
- Cut the brownies into 12 equal squares. Remove one brownie square from the pan and cut off the corners to make it a triangle (tree) shape. Repeat with remaining brownie squares. * Save the brownie scraps for snacking!
- If using straws then insert them before decorating. Cut the straw into 3-inch sections and gently insert one into the bottom of each tree. Place the green frosting into a piping bag (or use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped) and pipe it in a zig-zag pattern on each brownie tree. Decorate immediately with sprinkles and a star.
- Place them onto a festive Holiday platter and enjoy!
Notes
- Brownie Mix Size : Use any brownie mix you want but make sure that it is the correct size! We want the larger family-size brownie mix that is 18.4 ounces. For some reason the sizes are all over the place like 18.4 oz, 18.3 oz, and 18.2 oz. Make sure you get a box that is at least 18 ounces.
- Jelly Roll Pan : Traditionally, you bake the brownies in a 9x13 baking pan but not this recipe. You need a jelly roll pan (10x15 inches) which is slightly smaller than a cookie sheet. You could try making the recipe in a 9x13 baking pan but they will be thicker and you won't get as many Christmas trees.
- Allow Brownies To Cool Completely : It's important to allow the brownies to cool completely before trying to cut them. Plan on at least 1 hour of cooling time.
- Make It Ahead of Time : If you want to make these ahead of time then prepare the brownies as directed and let them cool to room temperature. Cover the cooled pan with plastic wrap or foil and let them set out at room temperature overnight. Decorate and serve the next day.
- Frosting/Icing : Use homemade frosting. Buy a tub of green frosting or white frosting (dye it green) at the store. Use green cookie icing. You can also use a few different colors of icing to mix it up; try using red, green, and white icing in the zig zag pattern on the brownie tree.
- Flavor The Frosting : Add just a touch of mint extract or peppermint extract for a peppermint flavor. You can also add almond extract for a variation.
- Decorations : Use any sprinkles you want to decorate the trees with. You can also use any small shaped candies like colorful mini m&m's or skittles. Or use candy + sprinkles!
- Straw : Inserting the straw into the bottom of the tree is totally optional. They're fun to eat as a lollipop with the straw and they present really well. Use any colored straw that you want like red & green striped, white, red, or all green. Or just pick the tree up with your hands and eat it that way.
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