Christmas tree brownies
These Christmas tree brownies are the perfect way of turning some delicious brownies into something fun and festive that kids will love.
I love these Christmas tree brownies – they’re one of my kid’s favourite things to make at Christmas time. Chocolate brownies are one of our most popular bakes, so I love finding an excuse to make them perfectly seasonal and these brownie Christmas trees do just that.
We used our favourite brownie recipe so you could use any recipe or a packet mix. Our recipe is delicious and gooey on the inside but a bit crisp on the outside, the way I think brownies should be. It’s also an easy bake for kids as you just throw everything into one bowl and mix it all together.
Decorating them into Christmas trees is equally easy. Once you’ve cut them into triangles, you simply add some green icing and sprinkles.
How can kids help make these Christmas tree brownies?
This simple brownie recipe mixes everything together in one bowl which is my favourite type of bake as it’s really easy (and saves on the washing up!)
Kids will enjoy getting to measure all the ingredients, and mix them all together. With four eggs in it, there’s also a lot of opportunity to practice cracking eggs.
The simple decorations are also easy and fun for kids to try. To make the Christmas tree effect you just need to add a zig zag of icing. And if your kids can’t manage that they’ll love getting to decorate their very own Christmas tree brownie.
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these Christmas tree brownies:
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Baking tin
Measuring cups
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Please refer to my Privacy Policy Page for more details.
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30 minutes plus 45 minutes baking
Serves: 10
Ingredients
275g (1 ¼ cups) softened butter
375g (1 2/3 cups) caster sugar
4 large eggs
75g (5/8 cup) cocoa powder
100g (7/8 cup) self raising flour
100g plain chocolate chips
For the decoration
200g (2 cups) Icing sugar
Green food colouring
Sprinkles
how to make christmas tree brownies
Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 160 Fan and prepare a 30 x 23 cm baking tin
Get your toddler to grease the baking tin. I normally just tear off a corner of the butter packet or some grease proof paper and use that to spread butter in the tin. Once greased, line the base and sides with baking parchment.
Measure out the ingredients
Measure all the ingredients into a bowl. We used a small bowl to weigh everything out in turn and then added them into the mixing bowl. Face the scales towards you so you can see how much is going in and either use a spoon or pour the ingredients in.
Before putting the butter in get your toddler to cut it into small chunks. If it’s slightly softened they should be able to do this with a butter or table (ie not sharp) knife.
Mix everything together
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with wooden spoons, mix everything together until it is evenly blended.
Add the chocolate chips
The recipe calls for chocolate chips if you don’t have any, you can use 100g of chocolate chopped into small pieces. Add them to your brownie mixture and give it one final stir.
Make the brownies
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, using a spatula spread the mixture gently into the corners and level the top.
Bake the brownies
Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. It’s cooked when the top of the brownies have a nice crust or you can stick a skewer in the middle and it should come out clean. If it starts to look a bit brown on top, cover loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
Make the Christmas trees
Once it’s fully cooled remove the brownie from the tin. Cut into Christmas tree shapes (ie triangles). I cut along the middle and then cut a zig zag to form roughly even triangles. There’ll be a little but left over at the edges.
Decorate the Christmas tree brownies
Get your little ones to help you mix some icing sugar together with a spoon or two of water until it is a little runny. Add the green food colour and mix until you have a nice even colour.
You want the icing to be runny enough to add to your trees but not so runny that it spreads everywhere.
Using a small piping bag or if you don’t have one a small zip lock bag with a tiny hole in the corner, pipe a zig zag of icing from the top of your tree to the bottom.
Get your little ones to add a star on top of the Christmas tree brownies and some sprinkles before it sets.
Enjoy!
Christmas tree brownies
Ingredients
- 275 g (1 1/4 cups) softened, butter
- 375 g (1 2/3 cups) caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 75 g cocoa powder
- 100 g (7/8 cups) self raising flour
- 100g chocolate chips
For the decoration
- 200 g (2 cups) icing sugar
- green food colouring
- Sprinkles
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan / 325F and grease and line a 30x23 cm baking with baking paper
Measure out the ingredients
- Measure all the ingredients except the chocolate chips out into a large mixing bowl or freestanding mixer. Mix it all together until it is well combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and give it one last mix with a wooden spoon.
Bake the brownies
- Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking tin and level it down with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
- Bake the brownies in the oven for 40-45 minutes. They're ready when the top has a nice crust and a skewer put in the middle comes out clean(ish). Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Make the Christmas trees
- Once the brownies have cooled remove them from the tin and cut them into triangles.
Decorate the Christmas tree brownies
- Mix the icing sugar together with a little water and a few dots of gree food colour until it is runny enough to spread on your brownies.
- Use a small piping bag or a zip lock bag with a hole cut in the corner to pipe the icing in zig zags from the top of your tree to the bottom. Decorate with sprinkles and a star at the top.
Pin Christmas tree brownies for later
If you liked these Christmas tree brownies, you’ll also love our Nutella Christmas tree our reindeer brownies and our other favourite Christmas bakes for kids.
Ina says
I love your site! My family also loves to cook and bake together and I am always looking for inspiration. Your style is down to earth, I really like that! Nowadays I come across so many hyper styled sites and pics and it doesn’t feel real or welcoming. All the best, Ina