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Easy Christmas Tree Brownies – adorable Christmas Tree decorated brownies kicked up from a boxed brownie mix perfect for a party! These super festive and fun brownies are a wonderful gift for friends and family
Who doesn’t love a rich gooey brownie? These brownies are simple to whip up and they can be easily decorated by adults and children alike. Christmas brownies are a snap to make, you can cut the brownies to make 8 large trees or 18 smaller iced Christmas trees!
Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.
At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
Table of Contents
Frosted Tree Brownies
My Christmas brownies are easy to customize, perfect for parties and cookie exchanges, and bring instant holiday magic to any dessert table.
How To Make Christmas Tree Brownies
First assemble the following ingredients:
- Boxed brownie mix and ingredients recommended – Using a boxed brownie mix creates a rich, fudgy base that’s quick, reliable, and perfect for cutting into sturdy Christmas tree shapes.
- Egg yolk – Adding an extra egg yolk boosts richness and chewiness, giving the brownies a more decadent, bakery-style texture.
- Green buttercream frosting – Green buttercream frosting acts as the “pine needles,” adding creamy sweetness while giving the brownies their festive Christmas tree look.
- Sprinkles – Colorful sprinkles decorate the trees like ornaments, adding crunch, sparkle, and extra holiday cheer.
- Candy canes – Candy canes serve as the tree trunks, adding a peppermint snap and making the brownies easy to hold and serve.
Steps to Make Christmas Tree Decorated Brownies
Prep
Preheat the oven to the temperature recommended on the box of brownies mix. Prepare a 9X9 baking pan (preferably a light metal pan) by lining it with parchment paper. You want to leave extra parchment paper over the edges so that you may easily remove the whole pan of brownies later.
Mix Batter
Use a whisk to stir together the ingredients recommended on the box of brownies and 1 egg yolk. (If this is too challenging, then use a spatula). We don’t want to over-mix, so mix just until the flour disappears.
Bake
Bake the brownies on the middle rack in your oven.
Cool
Check the brownies a few minutes before the minimum time recommended on the box. You do not want to over bake them. Insert a toothpick to test doneness. Leave the brownies in the pan and place it on a cooling rack. After a few minutes, move the pan into the fridge. Remove the brownies from the pan. Trim off outer edges. Cool completely.
Cut into 18 Trees
Cut the brownies into 3 long strips. Then cut the strips into triangles – this will make 3 rows with 6 triangles each. (Cut 3 equal squares from each strip, then cut the squares in half on the diagonal.) They will be small trees.
Cut into 8 Trees
If you want large trees, you can get 8. Cut the brownies in half down the middle. You will be able to cut 4 equal size triangles from each half. (It is like a zig-zag pattern.) It will only work if you trim a little off of each end, at an angle.
Decorate
Dye your frosting green and create a swaggered design across the front of the trees decorate with sprinkles and a candy cane as the base.
Tips to Perfect Christmas Tree Brownies
Use a fudgy brownie mix or recipe rather than cakey brownies so the trees hold together when cut.
Line your pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang, to easily lift the brownies out for neat slicing.
Let brownies cool completely (or chill) before cutting—warm brownies will crumble and lose their shape.
Trim the edges first, then cut brownies into even rectangles before slicing into triangle tree shapes.
Use a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts for crisp edges and professional-looking trees.
Save brownie scraps to make brownie bites, trifles, or ice cream mix-ins—nothing goes to waste.
Tint buttercream a deep green, since lighter shades fade visually once spread on dark brownies.
Use a small offset spatula or piping bag to frost in short strokes for a realistic “pine needle” texture. Frost just before decorating so sprinkles and candy stick without sliding off.
Add sprinkles sparingly—too many can weigh down the frosting and blur the tree shape. Press candy canes in gently to avoid cracking the brownies.
Chill frosted brownies for 10–15 minutes to set the buttercream before serving or packaging.
Store brownies in a single layer or with parchment between layers to protect the decorations.
For gifting, wrap individually in cellophane bags to keep frosting intact and festive.
Festive Tree Brownie FAQs
Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature. And if you have a recipe that calls for butter, that should be room temperature as well. Only stir the batter the bare minimum. And don’t over bake!
To keep these brownies as dense as possible we really don’t want to over-mix the batter. So, it is better to mix the batter by hand using a whisk and then a spatula if needed, just until the flour disappears.
Yes, you want to make sure that the brownies are very well cooled. You may even want to put them in the freezer for a bit, depending on the denseness of your brownies.
For this recipe it is really important that the whole pan of brownies removes well. If you don’t have parchment paper, you could use tin foil.
I recommend a light metal dish for these brownies because that will produce chewier brownies, but I’m sure it will be fine to use a glass baking dish.
Other Christmas Treats You’ll Love
If you’re looking for more delicious easy Christmas treat ideas, please check out more of our favorites:
You can find the rest of our Christmas cookie (and treats) at our Christmas Cookies page.
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Easy Christmas Tree Brownies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 boxed brownie mix
- 1 cup oil, whatever box calls for
- 2 eggs, whatever box calls for
- 1 extra egg yolk
- 1 jar white frosting
- Green Food Coloring
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to the temperature recommended on the box of brownies mix.
- Prepare a 9X9 baking pan (preferably a light metal pan) by lining it with parchment paper. You want to leave extra parchment paper over the edges so that you may easily remove the whole pan of brownies later.
- Use a whisk to stir together the ingredients recommended on the box of brownies and 1 egg yolk. (If this is too challenging, then use a spatula). We don’t want to over-mix, so mix just until the flour disappears.
- Bake the brownies on the middle rack in your oven.
- Check the brownies a few minutes before the minimum time recommended on the box. You do not want to over bake them. Insert a toothpick to test doneness. There should be some streaks of batter on the toothpick. If they are not at this point yet, give them just a few more minutes at a time.
- Leave the brownies in the pan and place it on a cooling rack. After a few minutes, move the pan into the fridge.
- While the brownies are cooling, mix together the white frosting and green food coloring.
- Remove the brownies from the pan. Trim off outer edges.
- Do not cut the brownies unless they are completely cooled – if they are not – return them to the fridge and wait until they are completely cooled.
- There are 2 different ways to cut these depending on how large you want the trees to be. If you want small trees, you can get 18. Cut the brownies into 3 long strips. Then cut the strips into triangles – this will make 3 rows with 6 triangles each. (Cut 3 equal squares from each strip, then cut the squares in half on the diagonal.) They will be small trees. If you want large trees, you can get 8. Cut the brownies in half down the middle. You will be able to cut 4 equal size triangles from each half. (It is like a zig-zag pattern.) It will only work if you trim a little off of each end, at an angle.
- Decorate with green icing and sprinkles. Stick a cut candy cane in the bottom of the triangle to be the stem of your Christmas tree.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
