Description
Bring a little bit of extra holiday cheer with these rich and decadent chocolate peanut butter Christmas trees.
Ingredients
Scale
- ½ cup salted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a combination of semi and milk chocolate chips)
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- Drizzle: ½ cup milk chocolate chips or pieces
- Drizzle: ½ cup white chocolate chips or pieces
- Drizzle: 1 teaspoon shortening, divided in half
Instructions
- Line a jelly roll or half sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Using a hand mixer, beat together melted butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar.
- Press peanut butter mixture into a sheet pan, spreading to about ½-inch thickness.
- Place sheet pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Lift the parchment paper to remove the chilled peanut butter layer from the pan. Place a new sheet of parchment paper on the pan.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out ½” thick Christmas tree shapes from the chilled peanut butter layer.
- Place cutouts on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Scoop up the remnant peanut butter mixture, repress to ½-inch thickness, and cut out additional shapes.
- After cutouts have chilled for 25 minutes, prepare the chocolate coating.
- Combine milk chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of shortening in a heatproof bowl. Heat and stir in 30-second increments in the microwave until the chocolate is smooth and melted completely.
- Using a fork, lift one peanut butter cutout at a time and coat it completely with the melted chocolate. Tap excess chocolate off the cutout and place it back onto the cookie sheet.
- Work in batches if the peanut butter cutout becomes soft quickly.
- Allow chocolate to harden.
- For optional drizzle, microwave chocolate chips or chopped pieces and shortening (½ teaspoon per ½ cup) in 30-second increments until melted and smooth.
- Scoop melted chocolate into a plastic baggy or piping bag. Snip a tiny corner off the baggy and drizzle in a zigzag motion over chocolate-coated trees. Allow chocolate to set, about 5 minutes.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- For best results, use a sharp cookie cutter to ensure clean edges.
- If the peanut butter mixture is too sticky, chill it longer before cutting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tree
- Calories: 428 kcal
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg