Christmas Tree Brownies

If you've made cookie cutter sugar cookies before, this will be a breeze. And if you haven't, there's no better time to start than the holidays!

Christmas Tree Brownies are a super cute and fun dessert. They are the perfect compliment to traditional Christmas sugar cookies. We also love our Christmas snack board as an appetizer on Christmas night and reindeer cupcakes, snowman cupcakes and chocolate covered pretzels for dessert.

Your kids (and you!) will have a ton of fun decorating these adorable little brownie cut-outs. I'm not sure if my daughter had more fun decorating her gingerbread man or eating it. I hadn't even looked up from my Christmas tree and she had already decorated and eaten hers. And she doesn't even like chocolate! But if you do, make sure to check out our Oreo brownies and s'mores pie next.

All you need to make Christmas tree brownies is:

• One package of brownie mix
• Christmas tree or gingerbread men cookie cutters
• Christmas sprinkles
• Icing (optional)

You are obviously not limited to Christmas tree cookie cutters, as you can see that I've also made ornaments and gingerbread men. I like Christmas trees because the pearls look like ornaments, and if I use icing, I can make it look like garland. Snowmen and stocking cookie cutters are cute too.

Tips

While making Christmas tree brownies is a breeze, here are some suggestions for making them the best that they can be:

• Use fudge brownie mix so that the inside is more moist and gooey and therefore will hold together better than cake-like brownies when cut into.
• Allow the brownies to cool before removing from the pan to avoid cracking (you can put them in the fridge to speed this up).
• Use cookie cutters that are at least ½ inch deep and don't have small crevices (the brownie will get stuck in small parts or crumble in that space).
• Grease the inside of the cookie cutters so the brownies come out easily.

Step-By-Step Directions

1. First, bake the brownie batter according to the package, but line the pan with a greased sheet of parchment paper. Let them cool for at least 30 minutes. You can put them in the fridge to speed this up, but keep them in the pan. If you remove them right away they will be too soft and will crack when using the cookie cutters.
2. Once cooled, lift the parchment paper out of the pan and gently transfer the brownies to your working surface. Now not only do you have a clean pan, but you have an already prepared surface to work on without getting the counter dirty.
3. Using cookie cutters of your choice, cut them out as you would cookies. If any pieces crack or break apart, just squish them back together and they should stick. Before cutting, grease the inside of the cookie cutters with butter or oil so the brownies easily pop out.
4. Decorate them any way you want using Christmas-colored pearls or Christmas-themed sprinkles, or both. Make sure to press the sprinkles into the brownie so they don't fall off. Do this gently, yet firmly. A little bit of icing is neat too, to give them even more definition. With the icing, you can give the brownies garland or the gingerbread person clothing. Icing can also be used to create line patterns on the ornaments or stocking brownies. To decorate with icing, use a piping bag.