Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees an Easy No Bake Holiday Treat

Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees

These homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees taste like your favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup dressed up for the holidays. A soft peanut butter filling gets cut into tree shapes, then dipped in chocolate. They are festive, simple, and the first thing to vanish from the cookie tray.

this …

Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees

If you have been following along here for a while, you already know I love a homemade peanut butter cup. I made a batch shaped like eggs for Easter, and my family asked for a Christmas version before the plates were even cleared. So here it is.

This is a simple and easy no bake dessert. That means no oven, no thermometer, no baking anxiety. You need a few everyday ingredients, and there is a very good chance most of them are already in your pantry right now: chocolate, peanut butter, butter, and sugar. That is really the whole list.

The process is calm and forgiving. You stir, press, freeze, cut, and dip. The hardest part is waiting for the peanut butter layer to firm up in the freezer, and honestly, that is when I usually start cleaning the kitchen and setting out my dipping tray.

These trees are also freezer friendly. You can make them ahead of time and tuck them away for Christmas, which frees up your hands for everything else on your holiday list.

I like to keep a container in the freezer for the whole season, and I pull out a few whenever someone stops by or when I want a small treat after dinner.

They are also a great project with kids, because there is nothing hot and nothing fragile. My niece handles the cutting, and I handle the chocolate dipping, and we both end up with chocolate somewhere on our sleeves. That is part of the fun.

Because the filling is pressed into one flat layer and cut afterward, every tree looks tidy and even, which means they look lovely on a platter or tucked into a box for a neighbor. Wrap them in parchment, add a ribbon, and you have a homemade gift that costs very little and looks like a lot.

If you are brand new to candy making, this is a great place to start. There is no tempering and no precise temperature to hit. Melted chocolate from a bowl over a pot of simmering water, or a short trip through the microwave, works beautifully.

The chocolate just needs to be smooth and fluid so each tree gets an even coat.

One thing I have learned the hard way: keep the filling cold. Peanut butter and butter soften fast on a warm counter, and a soft tree is a messy tree. Work with a few at a time, keep the rest in the freezer, and the dipping goes smoothly. That single habit makes the whole batch look professional.

Similar Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Recipes:

If this flavor combination is your happy place, there are more peanut butter cup recipes worth trying. Homemade Reese’s Eggs use the same idea in an egg shape for Easter, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake carries that peanut butter and chocolate pairing into a cool, creamy dessert that slices beautifully.

Craving More Christmas Desserts?!

Once the tree tray is full, my mind always wanders to the rest of the holiday dessert table. Here are a few favorites that sit nicely beside these peanut butter trees.

Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake is moist, flavorful, and easy, with a bright cranberry color that looks beautiful on a holiday plate. It slices neatly and travels well, so it is a smart choice if you are bringing dessert to someone else’s house.

Christmas Lasagna is the whimsical one, and it always gets a reaction. It is a layered dessert built on a buttery red velvet shortbread cookie crust, then a peppermint cheesecake layer, then white chocolate pudding, finished with whipped cream and mini marshmallows on top. It is festive, cool, and completely over the top in the best possible way.

Christmas Tree Cheesecake comes on a stick, which makes it easy to serve and easy to eat while you are standing around the kitchen talking. Kids love it, and it looks adorable lined up on a tray next to the peanut butter trees.

Between the no bake trees, a slice of pound cake, and one of these showstoppers, you have a holiday spread that covers every craving without turning your kitchen into a full time bakery.

Ingredients

The filling comes together with pantry basics, and the coating needs just one bag of chocolate. Here is exactly what you need.

For the trees:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 10 to 12 oz. chocolate chips, or chocolate chopped into small pieces

For the chocolate, I use half semisweet and half milk chocolate. That mix gives you the deep chocolate flavor of a peanut butter cup with a slightly softer, sweeter finish, and it stays pleasant to bite through once it sets. If you only have one kind on hand, that works too, and the trees will still taste wonderful.

Use creamy peanut butter here rather than a natural style that separates, because the filling needs to hold its shape when you cut it. Salted butter can stand in for unsalted in a pinch, though the filling will taste a touch saltier.

Instructions

This is the part where you can relax. There is no oven, no mixer required, and nothing that can burn. Follow the order below and you will have a tray of glossy trees in a few hours.

1. Prepare the dish. Line an 8 x 8 inch dish with parchment paper, leaving the paper to overhang the sides so you can easily lift it out later, and set it aside.
2. Mix the filling. 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.
3. Press it in. Press the mixture into the prepared dish. Smooth the top with a spatula, or simply press it with your palms to flatten it into a layer about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Freeze until firm. Place the dish in the freezer until the mixture is firm enough for cutting.
5. Set up your tray. When the mixture is firm enough, line a tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
6. Cut the trees. Using a Christmas tree cookie cutter, cut out the trees and place them on the tray. Put them back in the freezer for 45 to 60 minutes until they are completely firm.
7. Melt the chocolate. Melt the chocolate and line another tray with parchment paper.
8. Dip each tree. Using a fork, dip each tree into the melted chocolate to cover it completely. Gently tap the fork so the excess chocolate drips off. Because the peanut butter mixture softens very fast at room temperature, take just a few trees out of the freezer at a time, since firm trees are much easier to work with. Place the chocolate covered trees on the parchment lined tray and refrigerate until the chocolate has set.
9. Store. Store the trees in the fridge, or freeze them for longer storage.
10. Use every last bit. This batch makes 18 Christmas trees, but the number depends on the size of your cookie cutter. Mine was about 1 3/4 by 2 1/4 inches. Do not waste any batter: pick up the leftovers, knead them, press them with your palms, and you will be able to cut out at least 2 or 3 more trees.

Keep the filling cold and dip only a few trees at a time. Cold trees hold their edges and give you a clean, even chocolate coat every single time.

A few small habits make this recipe easier. First, keep your workspace cool and work quickly, since cold filling holds its edges and warm filling slumps. Second, use a fork rather than your fingers for dipping, because the tines let the extra chocolate drain back into the bowl instead of pooling around the base of each tree.

Third, do not rush the final set. Chocolate needs a little time in the refrigerator to firm up, and once it does, the trees lift cleanly off the parchment with no sticking and no fingerprints. If you are making these for a party, dip them the day before and keep them cold until you are ready to serve.

If you want a little sparkle, a light sprinkle of flaky salt or a few white chocolate drizzle lines over the set chocolate adds a festive touch. Keep it simple, though. The peanut butter and chocolate are already doing the heavy lifting.

Recipe details

There is no oven step in this recipe, so the cook time listed here reflects the chilling and setting stages, and the total time covers the whole batch from start to finish, including freezer time.

The yield of 18 trees is based on a cutter about 1 3/4 by 2 1/4 inches. A smaller cutter gives you more trees, and a larger one gives you fewer, so plan your chocolate amount with that in mind.

FAQs

Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees These homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees taste like your favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup dressed up for the holidays. A soft peanut butter filling gets cut into tree shapes, then dipped in chocolate.

• Total Time: 180 min
• Yield: 18 trees 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the trees
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
10–12 oz. chocolate chips or chocolate chopped in small pieces (I used half of semi-sweet and half of milk chocolate)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Assembly
1-Line 8 x 8 inch dish with: Line 8 x 8 inch dish with parchment paper, leaving the paper overhang the sides so you can easily lift it later and set aside.
2-Then in a mixing bowl stir together: Then in a mixing bowl stir together peanut butter, melted butter, brown sugar vanilla and salt, until sugar dissolve. Next, gradually mix in powdered sugar.
3-Press the mixture into prepared dish: Press the mixture into prepared dish. Smooth the top with spatula or simply press it with your palms to flatten into about 1/2 inch thick layer.
4-Place it in the freezer until firm: Place it in the freezer until firm enough for cutting.
5-When the mixture is firm enough, line: When the mixture is firm enough, line a tray with parchment paper and set aside.
6-Using Christmas tree cookie cutter cut out: Using Christmas tree cookie cutter cut out the trees and place them on the tray. Place them in the freezer for 45-60 minutes until completely firm.
7-Then melt the chocolate and line another: Then melt the chocolate and line another tray with parchment paper.
8-Using a fork, dip each tree into: Using a fork, dip each tree into melted chocolate to cover completely. Gently tap the fork to drip of the excess of chocolate. (Since the peanut butter mixture softens really fast at the room temperature, I suggest you to take just a few trees at the time from the freezer, because it’s easier to work with the firm trees!!!) Place chocolate covered Christmas trees on the parchment paper lined tray. Refrigerate until chocolate has set.
9-Store in the fridge or freeze for: Store in the fridge or freeze for longer storage.
10-I made 18 Christmas trees, but the: I made 18 Christmas trees, but the number depends on the size of your cookie cutter. Mine was about 1 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches. Don’t waste any batter, pick up leftovers, kneed, press with your palms and you will be able to cut out at least 2-3 more trees.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 60 min
• Method: no_cook