Easy Christmas Tree Brownies

It’s getting ever closer to Christmas and things are going to get busy, busy, busy whilst the children become more excited. So for this blog we thought it’d be nice to do something easy that the kids will love to join in with too… Christmas Tree Brownies!

Now I know what you’re thinking; ‘I’m so busy – no time for mess and baking with the kids!’… have no fear, we have the perfect genius solution with no mess and no fuss – honestly! We will be showing you how to use the brilliant Betty Crocker Microwave Brownie Maker. Not only does it reduce preparation time and mess, but it gives almost instant results – brownies in 3.5 minutes! Yes, 3.5 MINUTES!

Here’s a little bit about this amazing piece of kit:
It’s the fastest and easiest way to make rich, moist and fresh brownies – absolutely delicious! It’s BPA free and reusable. Its dishwasher safe – rinse and pop in the dishwasher after use… no standing at the sink washing loads of equipment afterwards.

Liking the sound of this? Well, let’s get on with making these treats!

Now for this blog, as it’s an activity perfect for children, I enlisted a very enthusiastic and excited little helper. And trust me, she absolutely loved making these! Oh, and eating them! The perfect Christmas activity and treat for little ones which could make a cute homemade gift for family members!

Christmas Tree Brownies

Ingredients

• Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix
• 1 egg (beat first if you prefer – we didn’t; we kept it simple!)
• Vegetable oil
• Water

For decoration:

• Shop bought frosting (we could have made our own, but we are keeping this as easy as possible!)
• Green food colouring gel
• Mini choco-beans (like mini Smarties) and sprinkles (optional – these can get messy!)
• Candy canes or Matchmakers
• A food/sandwich bag

Method

The method is ridiculously simple! Note that half a pack of the brownie mix makes one tray of brownies. Save the other half for another time, or make more!

1. Simply add the above ingredients up to the fill lines in the corresponding compartments of the clear container from the Betty Crocker Microwave Brownie Maker.
2. Carefully tip the lot into the red container and stir well until fully blended, making sure that you get into the corners.
3. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 3 to 3.5 minutes until the surface is set and you can poke a cocktail stick in the middle and it comes out almost clean.
4. Run a knife around the edges then turn out (really easy due to being non-stick) and leave to cool. 
5. Cut into 3 strips. Then cut triangles from each strip in a zigzag fashion.

Hey presto! Brownies made!

Now for the decorating!

1. Spoon a couple of scoops of the frosting into a bowl. Squeeze a blob of food colouring on top and mix well. Add more colouring if you prefer a deeper green.
2. Put the mixture into the food bag, aiming it into one of the bottom corners. Twist the remaining part of the bag to form a closure, so that it looks like a piping bag. Cut a tiny part of the pointed corner off… you now have a piping bag, ready to pipe the frosting onto your brownie triangles.
3. After you’ve added your frosting, decorate with the choco-beans and/or sprinkles.
4. Snap the candy canes or Matchmakers into short sticks, and insert into the bottom of each tree triangle.

How cute do they look?!

Now I can’t lie… I admit that I made a batch of these brownies, and so did my little helper. The little helper is nearly 4 and I am sure that you may suspect that the above pictures maybe aren’t 'solely' her own decorating skills. So here we go, some pictures of her very own tree creations… although not ‘conventional’, I’m sure you’ll agree that they are super cute, and the fun she had making them was priceless. The brownies underneath are truly delicious which is 100% down to my little helper and the Betty Crocker Microwave Brownie Maker!

Why not tell us how yours turned out in the comments below? We are loving our series of ‘homemade’ blogs leading up to Christmas – lots of treats to serve up to friends and family, or give as gift. Keep a lookout for more to come; they’re all geared towards gift giving for the upcoming festive season.

Related Blogs

Be sure to care and share our blogs. We would love to see you over on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and read your thoughts in the comments below.