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I absolutely love chocolate brownies – who doesn´t??? And these Christmas tree brownies are made with a festive twist! First of all, of course (as the name suggests), they are shaped like Christmas trees, but secondly, I have added some mincemeat (the fruit mix, not actual meat!) to these Christmas tree brownies!
I can imagine the raised eyebrows and skeptical wrinkling of the forehead as you read this recipe already – but trust me, these really are good! If you like Mince Pies, you will enjoy these brownies! My Mum and Grandma were skeptical at first, too, but really liked the taste of them when they tried them!
Of course, if you are not a fan of mincemeat, you can add other things (e.g. raspberries, chopped nuts, chocolate chips) to the brownie batter and still decorate them as Christmas trees or presents!
What exactly is mincemeat?
For those of you that don´t know, mincemeat is a mix of fruit, made with cranberries, sultanas, raisins, mixed peel and grated apples that are soaked in a sugary brandy syrup. In most shops in the UK, you are able to buy ready-made mincemeat in a jar, however, you could also make your own, for example, by following the recipe by the BBC or Delia Smith.
Traditionally, mincemeat is used to fill mince pies, for which you can find a recipe here.
The inspiration for this recipe came from pictures on Pinterest of brownies cut into Christmas trees. I loved the idea but wanted to give the actual brownie a festive twist as well. I absolutely love mince pies and still has some leftover mincemeat in the fridge from when I made them, so I decided to add it to my classic brownie mix!
This results in a gooey texture and a delicious, rich chocolate flavour combined with the taste of sweet, festive fruits!
I made these Christmas tree brownies with my usual brownie batter, but substituted the pecan nuts for mincemeat, some orange zest and a little extra cinnamon. You can find the recipe for my classic Best Ever Chocolate Brownies here.
To shape the brownies into Christmas trees, I simply cut the brownies into triangles, before using Cadbury´s chocolate fingers (or something similar) to make a tree trunk! To decorate, I just used a basic water icing and some Christmas sprinkles. I also cut a few square brownies and made them into presents.
I´d recommend using a 33×20 cm brownie tin, for example, something similar to this one here.
Check out my recipe for Easy Iced Biscuits to find out more about how to make the perfect water icing.
Why not try some of my other Christmas recipes?
Why not try making these Christmas tree brownies from the leftover mincemeat after you have made these delicious Christmas Mince Pies?
Or try some of my other festive recipes, such as my Chocolate Orange Trifle, or my Festive Pavlova with a Bailey´s Irish Cream Filling?
If you are in the mood for some Christmas biscuits, you could also give these piped biscuits called “Spritzgebäck” in German or my Gingerbread Men recipe a try!
Christmas Tree Brownies | Classic Brownies with a Festive Twist
Recipe
Ingredients (makes 16 trees):
FOR THE BROWNIE BATTER:
- 175g good quality dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids (I use Dr Oetker´s)
- 175g unsalted butter
- 250g light brown soft sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 120g plain flour
- 250g mincemeat
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
TO DECORATE:
- Cadbury´s chocolate fingers
- 50g icing sugar
- Sprinkles of your choosing
Method:
- Lightly grease a 34×20 cm brownie tin and line with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Start by carefully melting the butter and chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool slightly.
- Add the melted chocolate to a baking bowl containing the brown sugar and salt and stir until well combined. Gradually add in the egg, a little at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Stir in the flour until completely incorporated, followed by the mincemeat, orange zest and cinnamon.
- Pour the Christmas tree brownie batter into your prepared tin and level the surface.
- Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes. You want an inserted skewer to come out clean, but avoid over-baking the brownies so that they keep their gooey texture.
- Leave to cool in the tin slightly, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut the cooled brownies into triangles (or squares, for making presents). Do this by cutting the brownie in half lengthways, followed by alternating diagonal cuts to make triangular, Christmas-tree-like shapes. Alternatively, you could use a cutter to do this.
- To decorate, start by inserting a chocolate finger into the bottom of each tree. To make the water icing, add a tiny (!!!) amount of to the icing sugar and mix well until the icing is smooth and thick. Add a little bit more water if necessary, however, you don´t want a runny icing as you are needing to pipe it!
- Fill the water icing into a piping bag or a
freezer bag and snip off a small piece at the end. Pipe zig-zag lines onto your
Christmas tree brownies and finish with some sprinkles.
(To make presents, pipe a cross over the square brownies and decorate with sprinkles). Dust with icing sugar to serve.
