In our part of the world, good old chocolate brownies aren’t necessarily considered a typical sweet treat for Christmas – but if you decorate them a little, that can quickly change. These Xmas Walnut Brownies can easily compete with Christmas cookies and other sweet holiday treats. I would even go so far as to say that these brownies will disappear faster than any other cake or cookie at an Advent Sunday Kaffeeklatsch. ;)
Don’t get me wrong – brownies are great and absolutely delicious! I have to add »unfortunately very delicious« because they are not exactly the healthiest snack, right? That aside, they’re probably not on many people’s baking list for Advent and Christmas here in Germany. Cookies and festive cakes and pies are more common here. Brownies are more of an »American thing«. No offense. ;P
If you ask Uncle Google or Aunt ChatGPT, they’ll both spit out a seemingly endless list of recipes and ideas for Christmas brownies. Google is more pragmatic and provides links to recipes that can be found on blogs and recipe sites. ChatGPT on the other hand is a little more experimental and offers some rather unusual flavor combinations… like mulled wine brownies with baked apples combined. Interesting. ;P
The point of this – I just wanted to illustrate that there are many recipes (and ideas) out there for Christmas brownies… it’s just that here in Germany, we’re conditioned to other Christmas treats. Let’s put it that way. ;) My mom would not have known at all what brownies are, when I was growing up, so they were never an option in our house. We only had potatoes and sauerkraut for Christmas when I was a kid! (Just kidding! Or maybe not!) ;P
Anyway. These brownies are easy to make and (let’s be honest) really cute when decorated – definitely something you could make for Christmas. Nobody can resist those cute little Christmas trees and Santa hats. We all love a fudgy brownie as it is – with colorful buttercream on top, it can only get better!
I have to admit, though, that the buttercream doesn’t really make these little treats any healthier. Brownies are already made with a lot of sugar and fat – and the buttercream decoration doesn’t make that any better. Keep that in mind. Burry it somewhere in the back of your head. Treating you to something sweet when it’s freezing outside is always ok. It does not have to be the whole tray of brownies… luckily, the trees and hats are quite small. ;P
Even though Christmas brownies aren’t all that common here, we’ve already published a recipe for them on the blog. It was a few years ago and the brownies were a tiny bit larger. But that was necessary, because we needed more surface area to decorate. If you want to see for yourself, check out the XXL Christmas Brownie Cakes…
Another one that’s not very common in Germany for Christmas: Cupcakes! Something I’ve never really understood. Cupcakes are so practical when you have guests and want as little work as possible when serving dessert. They keep for a long time on the dinner table, and everyone can just grab a cupcake whenever they feel like it. What guests could resist cute little Christmas Chocolate Cupcakes with Lights, right?
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 15 brownies)
For the brownies:
3 large eggs
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 cup (200g) brown sugar
6 oz. (170g) butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 1/2 cups (200g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3.5 oz. (100g) walnuts, chopped
1.8 oz. (50g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
For the buttercream:
2/3 cup (150g) butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 pinch of salt
7 oz. (200g) sweetened condensed milk*
red & green food coloring*
a few sugar pearls (optional)
(etwa 15 Brownies)
Für die Brownies:
3 Eier (L)
200g Zucker
200g brauner Zucker
170g Butter, geschmolzen
1 TL Vanille Extrakt*
200g Mehl (Type 405)
60g Kakaopulver
1 TL Backpulver
1/2 TL Salz
100g Walnüsse, gehackt
50g Zartbitterschokolade, gehackt
Für die Buttercreme:
150g Butter, Zimmertemperatur
1/2 TL Vanille Extrakt*
1 Prise Salz
200g gezuckerte Kondensmilch*
Lebensmittelfarben* (rot & grün)
einige bunte Zuckerperlen (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease a square baking pan* (26x26cm) and line it with baking parchment. Set aside. Melt the butter for the brownies and let it cool down slightly. Chop the walnuts and the chocolate and set both aside.
2. Add the eggs and both sugars to a large bowl and mix on high for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the slightly cooled butter and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then add these dry ingredients to the bowl and mix in. Next, add the chopped walnuts and chocolate and fold in.
3. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula. Bake the brownies in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes – or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out almost clean – some moist crumbs are absolutely fine. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool down inside the pan.
4. For the buttercream, add butter, vanilla extract, and salt to a large bowl and mix on high for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix another 2-3 minutes. The mixture will initially seem quite runny, but the longer you mix, the thicker and firmer the buttercream will become. Divide the buttercream into three batches – a small one should stay without food coloring (for the white parts of the Santa hats) and the rest should be colored red and green – roughly half of the remaining buttercream in each color.
5. Remove the brownie from the pan and cut it into three strips. Then cut each of these strips into five triangles, with the sides slightly longer than the base. There will be some scraps left over at the beginning and end of the strips, which can, of course, be eaten. Quality control, right?! ;)
6. Fill each colored buttercream batch into a piping bag fitted with a round or star piping tip (the star piping tip is for the green buttercream) and then decorate the brownie triangles. If you like, you can sprinkle the Christmas trees with some additional sugar pearls (optional).
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine quadratische Backform* (26x26cm) leicht einfetten und mit Backpapier auslegen. Zur Seite stellen. Die Butter für die Brownies schmelzen und leicht abkühlen lassen. Die Walnüsse und die Schokolade hacken und zur Seite stellen.
2. Die Eier und beide Zuckersorten in eine große Schüssel geben und für einige Minuten aufschlagen, bis die Masse hell und schaumig aussieht. Die leicht abgekühlte Butter und den Vanille Extrakt dazugeben und unterrühren. Das Mehl mit Kakao, Backpulver und Salz vermengen, dann zur Schüssel dazugeben und untermengen. Die gehackten Walnüsse und Schokolade ebenfalls dazugeben und unterheben.
3. Den Teig in die vorbereitete Form geben und mit einer Winkelpalette gleichmäßig verteilen und glatt streichen. Die Brownies im vorgeheizten Ofen für etwa 35-40 Minuten backen. Mit einem Zahnstocher testen – er darf noch feuchte Krümel dran haben. Die Brownies aus dem Ofen nehmen und in der Form abkühlen lassen.
4. Für die Buttercreme die Butter mit Vanille Extrakt und Salz in eine große Schüssel geben und einige Minuten hell und luftig aufschlagen. Die gezuckerte Kondensmilch dazugeben und die Creme weitere 2-3 Minuten aufschlagen. Die Masse wird erst recht flüssig wirken, je länger man allerdings aufschlägt, umso kompakter wird die Creme. Die Buttercreme aufteilen – eine kleine Portion lässt man ohne Farbe für die weißen Teile der Nikolausmützen. Den Rest sollte man jeweils etwa zur Hälfte rot und grün einfärben. Ein rote Buttercreme ist ebenfalls für die Mützen und die grüne Buttercreme für die Tannenbäume.
5. Den Kuchen/Brownie aus der Form lösen und in drei Streifen schneiden. Diese Streifen dann jeweils in fünf Dreiecke schneiden, bei denen die Seiten etwas länger als die Basis sind – am Anfang und Ende der Streifen wird etwas »Abfall« übrig bleiben, der natürlich genascht werden darf.
6. Die eingefärbten Buttercreme-Portionen jeweils in einen Spritzbeutel mit runder bzw. Sterntülle füllen (die Sterntülle ist für die grüne Buttercreme) und dann die Brownie-Dreiecke damit dekorieren. Wer mag, kann auf die Tannenbäume auch noch ein paar bunte Zuckerperlen schmeißen (optional).
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Xmas Walnut Brownies (with Buttercream Decorations)
- Prep Time: 00:45
- Cook Time: 00:35
- Total Time: 03:00
- Yield: 15 1x
- Category: Brownies
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
If you need something cute and delicious for Christmas, take a look at these Xmas Walnut Brownies. They are easy to make and a great gift (if you need one)!
Ingredients
For the brownies:
3 large eggs
1 cup (200g) sugar
1 cup (200g) brown sugar
6 oz. (170g) butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 1/2 cups (200g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3.5 oz. (100g) walnuts, chopped
1.8 oz. (50g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
For the buttercream:
2/3 cup (150g) butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 pinch of salt
7 oz. (200g) sweetened condensed milk*
red & green food coloring*
a few sugar pearls (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease a square baking pan* (26x26cm) and line it with baking parchment. Set aside. Melt the butter for the brownies and let it cool down slightly. Chop the walnuts and the chocolate and set both aside.
2. Add the eggs and both sugars to a large bowl and mix on high for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the slightly cooled butter and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then add these dry ingredients to the bowl and mix in. Next, add the chopped walnuts and chocolate and fold in.
3. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula. Bake the brownies in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes – or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out almost clean – some moist crumbs are absolutely fine. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool down inside the pan.
4. For the buttercream, add butter, vanilla extract, and salt to a large bowl and mix on high for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix another 2-3 minutes. The mixture will initially seem quite runny, but the longer you mix, the thicker and firmer the buttercream will become. Divide the buttercream into three batches – a small one should stay without food coloring (for the white parts of the Santa hats) and the rest should be colored red and green – roughly half of the remaining buttercream in each color.
5. Remove the brownie from the pan and cut it into three strips. Then cut each of these strips into five triangles, with the sides slightly longer than the base. There will be some scraps left over at the beginning and end of the strips, which can, of course, be eaten. Quality control, right?! ;)
6. Fill each colored buttercream batch into a piping bag fitted with a round or star piping tip (the star piping tip is for the green buttercream) and then decorate the brownie triangles. If you like, you can sprinkle the Christmas trees with some additional sugar pearls (optional).
Notes
Get your bake on!
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