These homemade chocolate and peanut butter Christmas trees are like your favorite Reese’s peanut butter cups disguised as a fun and festive Christmas dessert!
Ingredients
1 cup of creamy peanut butter
¼ unsalted cup melted with butter
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups of powdered sugar
10-12 ounces of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in small pieces (I used half semi-sweet chocolate and half milk chocolate)
Instructions
Line the 8 x 8 inch plate with parchment paper, leaving the paper hanging down the sides so you can easily lift it up later and set it aside.
Then, in a mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt, until the sugar dissolves. Then gradually mix in the powdered sugar.
Press the mixture into the prepared dish. Smooth the top with a spatula or simply press it with the palms of your hands to flatten it into a layer approximately ½ inches thick.
Place it in the freezer until it is firm enough to cut.
When the mixture is firm enough, line a tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
Using the Christmas tree cookie cutter, cut down the trees and place them on the tray. Place them in the freezer for 45-60 minutes until they are completely firm.
Then melt the chocolate and line another tray with parchment paper.
Using a fork, dip each tree in the melted chocolate to cover it completely. Tap the fork gently to drip off the excess chocolate. (Since the peanut butter mixture softens very quickly at room temperature, I suggest you remove only a few trees from the freezer at this time, because it is easier to work with the firm trees!) Place the chocolate-covered Christmas trees on the tray lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set.
Store in the refrigerator or freeze for longer storage.
I made 18 Christmas trees, but the number depends on the size of your cookie cutter. Mine was 1 ¾ x 2 ¼ inches. Don’t waste the dough, pick up the leftovers, kneel down, press with the palm of your hand and you can cut down at least 2-3 more trees.