1/2 cup green frosting or vanilla icing tinted with green food coloring
12 small candy canes, broken into 2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon assorted festive sprinkles
12 small star-shaped candies or yellow sprinkles for the toppers
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on the sides so you can easily lift the brownies out once they are finished. Lightly grease the parchment paper with a small amount of butter or oil to ensure nothing sticks.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and granulated sugar. Whisk them together until the mixture is well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the alcohol-free vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
Sift the cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder directly into the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter, as this can lead to a cake-like texture rather than a fudgy one.
Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and spread it evenly into the corners. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool completely in the pan. This is a crucial step, as warm brownies will crumble when you try to cut them into shapes.
Once the brownies are cold, lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper edges. Cut the large square into three long, equal rectangles. Then, cut each rectangle into a series of triangles to create the tree shapes. You should end up with about 12 trees and a few small scrap pieces for snacking.
Insert a small piece of candy cane or a pretzel stick into the bottom of each brownie triangle to serve as the trunk. Fill a piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off with green frosting. Pipe a zig-zag pattern across each triangle to resemble tinsel or branches. Immediately add your sprinkles and place a star candy at the top of each tree before the frosting sets.
