Rich, fudgy Christmas brownies decorated like little Christmas trees! This easy, festive dessert is perfect for cookie exchanges, classroom parties, or a cozy holiday night at home. Simple to make, fun to decorate, and always a crowd-pleaser!
It’s that time of year when the kitchen smells like sugar, cocoa, and Christmas cheer! These Christmas brownies are everything you want in a holiday treat — rich, fudgy, and decked out like little Christmas trees. They’re fun for the kids to decorate and easy enough for busy moms, or anyone who’s juggling a dozen things. Whether you’re baking for a cookie exchange, a classroom party, or your own family, these brownies bring instant holiday joy.
And making these festive brownies happens to be number 22 of my Christmas Bucket List Ideas!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Festive & fun: Tree-shaped brownies are the cutest thing at any dessert table.
- Simple to make: No fancy tools or pastry chef skills required.
- Family-friendly: Perfect for kids or grandkids to help decorate.
- Make-ahead option: Brownies stay fudgy for days, and you can even freeze them!
Ingredients Overview
Chances are, you already have the ingredients you need in your pantry to make homemade brownies.
- Butter + chocolate chips: This combo gives the brownies a deep, fudgy texture.
- Brown sugar: Adds extra moisture and caramel-like richness.
- Cocoa powder: Gives that classic brownie flavor (use your favorite brand!).
- Powdered sugar + butter frosting: Easy to pipe and fun to color — I like this Wilton star tip set for decorating.
- Festive toppings: Mini M&Ms, sprinkles, or edible stars. This is where the fun begins!
Go ahead, check out your pantry and fridge to grab what you need. I’ll be here sipping on some Instant Pot hot chocolate while you go.
The cooking time may vary, so just be mindful of that.
How to make Christmas tree brownies
Here’s a quick overview of how these holiday brownies come together. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
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- Bake your brownies in a round springform pan. We’re baking the brownies in a circle, which eliminates the need for a Christmas tree cookie cutter. Heck, you don’t even have to sweat fashioning a tree trunk. I told you, this would be easy!!
- Cool the brownies completely before cutting the brownies into triangle shapes to make our Christmas trees.
- Make the simple green frosting and pipe it onto the brownies, starting at the top and working to the bottom. You can use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, or even a zip lock baggie fitted with the tip.
- Top with your choice of toppings. Sprinkles, m&ms’s or whatever you like
Viola! You've conquered this Christmas tree brownies recipe!!!
Variations
- Use boxed brownie mix for an ultra-quick version. No shame in this game; I use this for my brownie mix cookies, too.
- Try peppermint bark topping or crushed candy canes instead of sprinkles.
- Make them “Grinch Green” with a lighter frosting color and red hearts!
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
Bake up to 3 days in advance. Store tightly covered; frost before serving. To keep fresh: Keep decorated brownies in an airtight container up to 4 days.
Freeze: Wrap un-frosted brownies individually in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze up to 2 months.
Farm Girl Tip
How to cut brownies cleanly
Have you ever cut brownies only to have the insides stick to your knife? The solution is using a plastic knife to cut your brownies into pieces. I don’t know why it works but it does!
Other recipes you’ll love
When you make these fun treats for your Christmas party or cookie exchange, come on back and leave a recipe review or comment. I'd love to hear from you!
Recipe
Christmas Tree Brownies Recipe
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Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs plus 2 yolks at room temperature
- 1 stick 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
Buttercream Frosting
- 4 sticks of unsalted butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-4 tablespoons milk or coffee creamer
- Green food coloring
Toppings
- Mini M&Ms Holiday sprinkles or star sprinkles, Holiday mini chips
Instructions
For the brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch round springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, whole eggs and yolks. Mix well until the beaten eggs are incorporated and the sugars are mixed well.
- In a microwave safe bowl melt butter and chocolate together in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring between each interval.
- Whisk the vegetable oil into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and mix until fully combined.
- Gently fold in the flour and cocoa.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean about 35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, run a knife around the edge and let cool for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes remove the springform edge and continue to let the brownies cool completely.
- Cool brownies completely before icing them. When brownies have cooled, cut them into 8 wedge shapes, which will be our Christmas trees. (Think about slicing a pizza into triangles, except these are brownies. A plastic knife works perfect for cutting.
- For the buttercream frosting
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, OR using a hand mixer, whip the butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract, then add the powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, mixing between each addition.
- Add in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is a consistency good for piping onto the brownies. You'll need about 3-4 tablespoons of milk.
- Add green food coloring until you reach your desired shade of green.
- Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Starting at the top of the tree, start piping on the frosting, filling the space with stars to fill the tree.
- Decorate your trees with mini M&Ms, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or candies. I placed a yellow candy at the top of each tree as the star but of course, you can decorate these however you like..
Notes
- You can flavor the buttercream by using your favorite coffee creamer instead of milk. I love using the peppermint mocha flavor for my butter cream.
- You can use a double boiler to melt the butter and chocolate if you wish.
- Store these brownies in an airtight container for 3 days or the refrigerator for 4 days.
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. Calories and other nutritional values vary depending on which brands were used.
