For me, December means baking. Between Christmas gatherings and my dad’s birthday, my mixer gets a workout! I’m the unofficial family dessert maker-and that’s despite my limited decorating skills. I can make a tasty cake, but I sure as heck can’t frost it properly.
I’ve found my happy place when it comes to holiday baking-I treat everything like a craft project. I may not be able to wield a piping bag, but I can craft with the best of them!
The J.M. Smucker Company invited me to create a holiday treat that was easy to make without sacrificing on the “wow” factor. I picked up a box of Pillsbury™ Family Size Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix on my last trip to Publix, along with green chocolate melts and star sprinkles.
I baked the brownies according to the package directions, but first I lined the pan with parchment paper so that I could easily remove the entire sheet of brownies after they finished cooling.
Using a Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter, I carefully cut out as many Christmas trees as I could from the sheet of brownies. The bonus here is that you get to save all of the corners and middle bits for yourself. No one ever has to know…
Depending on the size of your cookie cutter, you should be able to create about ten trees from one 9″ x 13″ pan of brownies.
When melting chocolate, remember to melt in the microwave at half power, no more than one minute at a time. If using the stove top, make sure you use a double boiler rather than melting the chocolate on direct heat.
I used a small squeeze bottle that is meant for candy making, but you can just as easily drizzle on the melted chocolate with a spoon. This is where treating it like a craft project comes into play. Just pretend the chocolate is paint and the sprinkles are glitter. And speaking of sprinkles, make sure you throw them on top of the chocolate before it has a chance to cool.
I’m a fan of decorating for the holidays with non-traditional colors, so I opted for a lime green chocolate and pastel sprinkles. You could easily go with more traditional Christmas colors if that’s more your style.
After decorating, place the brownies in the freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate. After that they’ll be ready to serve!
Of course trees are just the start of the holiday shapes you could use for your Christmas brownies. Only have a round cookie cutter handy? Those could be fun ornaments! Don’t forget to let the kids help with the decorating, too. Grab some frosting and candy and let them have fun!
Looking for more easy holiday baking ideas? Why not try my “Peppermint Bark” Cupcakes made with Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme® Devil’s Food cake mix and Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting.
You can also join in the Dessert Debate online and let your Facebook friends help you decide what to bake! Whatever you choose, you’ll find all of the supplies you need at Publix.
Visit Pillsbury Baking for more information, tips, and recipes. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Pinterest and Instagram.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine.