Christmas Tree Brownie Bites

Nine years ago, my husband and I had just finished placing the last ornament on the tree when it fell over.

Yes, you read that right. It. Fell. Over. Onto a tile floor.

We stood there for a minute in complete silence. It was one of those frozen-in-time moments, where it takes a minute to comprehend what happened.

Luckily, the only major casualties were colored glass balls, ones that could be easily replaced. One of my favorite glass ones still, to this day, has a hole in it as a result of the tumble. I just handle it gently and put it near the top, imperfect side in and no one is the wiser.

A few years later, I was (very) pregnant and home alone with our newly decorated tree while my husband was at work, 45 minutes away. We had put shims in the tree stand to make sure it wouldn’t fall over.

When I walked into the living room and noticed the tree listing about 15 degrees off center, my husband made the drive home to fix the problem.

After that we made it a habit to tie the tree to the wall with screws and fishing line.

The first time I thought about Christmas in this new house, I was excited because we actually have a living room window that faces the street, a perfect Christmas tree window. I haven’t had one of those in any of the houses we’ve lived in.

The second thing I thought about? That the window ledge is a little low, but it’ll do as a tree-anchoring site.

Perfect.

Remember those Candy Corn Brownie Bites? I used the same pan for these trees. But I covered them in green candy melts. I used candy-coated sunflower seeds for my ornaments, but you could use any small colorful candy. My star is a hand-drawn one made of yellow candy melts, but a gumdrop would work too.

That’s one tree I wouldn’t mind picking up the pieces of if it fell over, that’s for sure.

Christmas Tree Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix (Family Size), plus ingredients listed to make the brownies

Green candy melts, about a package for a full brownie mix

Candy coated sunflower seeds or other small colored candy for lights

Yellow candy melts or small yellow gumdrops for stars

Brownie Pop Pan (Wilton)

Directions:

1. Mix brownies according to package directions. Spray your brownie pop pan liberally with cooking spray and fill each cavity 2/3 full of brownie mix. Bake 18-20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before dipping. (Note: the entire brownie mix makes about 24 brownies using this pan, meaning three trips through the oven.)

2. First, melt your green candy melts in microwave safe bowl. (If you’re having trouble getting a smooth consistency, try adding a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil.) Place the brownie tree in the green melted candy and cover completely. Scoop up with a fork and tap off the excess candy. Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet.

3. Use a toothpick to scrape up the sides of the brownie a little, to make it look more like it has tree branches. Randomly place your candy-coated sunflower seeds or other small candy around the tree like lights. Chill until hardened.

4. Next, melt your yellow candy melts (you won’t need very many). Place melted yellow candy in a ziploc sandwich bag. Seal and snip off one corner. Draw stars with the yellow candy onto waxed paper and chill until firm. (Alternately, you can use yellow gumdrops for this step.)

5. Remove brownie trees and stars from refrigerator. Using a little melted yellow candy, attach the stars to the trees.

Note: Serve on a bed of coconut to look like snow.

Yield: 24 brownies

Happy decorating! Who already has their tree up? Ours will be anchored sometime next weekend.

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy’s Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark’s Country Heart), This Chick Cooks. Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I’m Lovin’ it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters’ Stuff)