brownie stuffed Christmas trees & a giveaway!

These Christmas trees, made from ice cream cones and hiding a brownie inside, are super easy to make and decorate! They’re pretty enough to make an appearance at an adult holiday bash – they could even act as the centerpiece.

They’d work well at a family party, too – you can let each child assemble their own Christmas trees, which they’ll love. My kids had a blast, and even my 5 year old was able to decorate one all by himself.

The trees are made by baking brownie mix inside pointed ice cream cones.

To bake the brownie trees, you’ll want to grab a foil casserole dish from the dollar store and use a sharp knife to poke 12 X shapes into the bottom. Place the casserole dish upside down on a cookie sheet, and gently press an ice cream cone into each X (turning the cones as you press down). The cones will break if you push hard, so go slow. Once the cones are all set, you can fill them brownie mix. I spooned the mix into a ziplock bag, snipped off a corner, and “piped” the brownie mix in. Be sure not to fill the cones all the way or they’ll completely overflow (I left about an inch of room at the top). NOTE: Use a brownie mix made for a 9×13 size pan and mix as directed on the box – you will have some left over after filling all 12 cones.

Bake cones at 350 degrees for around 20-25 minutes – you want the tops to be done, but the insides to be a little fudgy. You can check them by sticking in a toothpick – it should come out mostly clean, with a few fudgy crumbs attached. Cool cones completely. (And don’t worry – the cones won’t burn during baking!)

Slice any brownie that puffed up over the top of the cone off to make a flat surface so the “tree” will stand up.

Use food coloring to color a tub of vanilla frosting green, then microwave it for a few seconds at a time until it’s slightly runny. Dip each cone into the frosting, rotating it to get it completely covered. Pull the cone out and let the extra frosting drip off, then place the cone on a plate and decorate with colored sugar, coconut flakes, and candy. NOTE: if the frosting is so runny that not much of it sticks to the cones, let it set up for a few minutes and dip them again. Easy and adorable, right?