Christmas Lights Brownies
Christmas Lights Brownies
These Christmas Lights Brownies are such a fun and easy Christmas dessert! Rich, fudgy chocolate brownies are cut into squares, decorated with bright green icing to look like Christmas light wires, and finished with colorful Wilton candy light bulb decorations.
I love how simple these are to make! The little red, green, blue, and yellow candy bulbs look just like colorful Christmas lights strung across each brownie. They’re festive, adorable, and perfect for Christmas parties, holiday dessert trays, cookie exchanges, or an afternoon of Christmas baking.
The best part? You don’t need any complicated decorating skills. Just pipe a few swirls of green icing, add the candy light bulbs, and you have the cutest little Christmas brownies!
Easy Christmas Lights Brownies
If you’re looking for a Christmas brownie idea that’s quick, colorful, and easy to decorate, these are perfect.
The dark chocolate brownies make a beautiful background for the bright green icing and colorful candy decorations. I especially love how the little light bulbs look like they’re hanging from a string of Christmas lights.
You can make the brownies from scratch or use your favorite boxed brownie mix to save time.
Christmas Lights Brownies Recipe
Servings: 16 brownies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 25–30 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Decorating Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
For Decorating
- Bright green decorating icing
- Wilton candy Christmas light bulb decorations
- Piping bag or squeeze bottle, if needed
How to Make Christmas Lights Brownies
Step 1: Prepare the Brownie Batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line an 8 × 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until combined.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
Stir in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder until just combined.
Fold in the mini chocolate chips if you’re using them.
Step 2: Bake the Brownies
Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for approximately 25–30 minutes, or until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
Once cooled, lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper and cut them into 16 squares.
Step 3: Pipe the Christmas Light Wires
Arrange the brownie squares on a flat surface or serving platter.
Using bright green decorating icing, pipe a thin, curvy line across the top of each brownie.
Make little loops and swirls so the icing resembles a strand of Christmas lights.
You can make the icing wire run diagonally across the brownie, curve around the edges, or create several little loops.
Step 4: Add the Candy Christmas Lights
While the green icing is still soft, gently press the Wilton candy Christmas light bulb decorations onto the icing wire.
Alternate the colors to create a fun string of Christmas lights.
Use red, blue, yellow, and green bulbs for a colorful holiday look.
Position the green base of each candy light bulb against the icing wire so it looks like the bulb is attached to the strand.
Step 5: Let the Icing Set
Allow the decorated brownies to sit at room temperature until the green icing has set enough to hold the candy decorations in place.
Arrange them on a Christmas dessert platter and enjoy!
Tips for Decorating Christmas Lights Brownies
Use bright green icing. A vibrant green decorating icing really stands out against the dark chocolate brownies and makes the Christmas light wires easy to see.
Make loose, curly lines. Don’t worry about piping perfectly straight lines. Christmas light strands naturally twist and curve, so little loops make the brownies look even cuter.
Add the candy bulbs immediately. Place the Wilton candy decorations onto the green icing before it dries so they’ll stick securely.
Mix up the colors. Alternate red, green, blue, and yellow bulbs to give every brownie a colorful Christmas look.
Let the brownies cool completely. Warm brownies can cause the green icing to soften and lose its shape.
Can I Use Boxed Brownie Mix?
Absolutely! These Christmas Lights Brownies are all about the fun decorations, so you can use any brownie recipe you love.
Prepare a boxed brownie mix according to the package directions and bake in the recommended pan.
Allow the brownies to cool completely, cut them into squares, and decorate with green icing and candy Christmas light bulbs.
This is a great shortcut when you’re making several different Christmas desserts.
Perfect for Christmas Parties
These brownies would be adorable on a Christmas dessert table!
The colorful candy lights make them stand out alongside traditional Christmas cookies, fudge, truffles, and other holiday treats.
You could even arrange them on a large white serving platter and scatter a few extra candy light bulb decorations around the brownies for a festive presentation.
They’re also a fun Christmas baking project for kids because the decorating is so simple.
Can I Make Christmas Lights Brownies Ahead of Time?
Yes! You can bake the brownies a day ahead and store them in an airtight container.
When you’re ready to serve, cut them into squares and decorate with the green icing and candy Christmas lights.
You can also decorate the brownies several hours before your party to give the icing time to set.
How to Store Christmas Lights Brownies
Store the decorated brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–4 days, provided you’re using shelf-stable decorating icing.
Arrange them in a single layer whenever possible to protect the candy decorations.
If you need to stack them, wait until the icing is completely set and place parchment paper between the layers.
More Easy Christmas Brownie Ideas
If you love decorating brownies for the holidays, there are so many fun ways to turn a simple pan of brownies into Christmas treats.
Try making reindeer brownies, Christmas tree brownies, Santa hat brownies, or snowman brownies for a colorful holiday brownie platter.
You could even make several different designs from one pan of brownies for an easy Christmas dessert assortment.
Jennie’s Thoughts
I absolutely love how these Christmas Lights Brownies turned out! I wanted something colorful and festive that would be really easy to make, and these were exactly what I had in mind.
I used bright green icing to pipe little curly Christmas light wires across the brownies, then added the cutest Wilton candy light bulb decorations. I love how the red, green, yellow, and blue bulbs look against the dark chocolate brownies!
The little icing loops make it look like the Christmas lights are actually strung across each brownie, which I think is such a cute detail.
These would be so much fun for a Christmas party or holiday dessert tray, especially if you’re making several different kinds of decorated brownies.
Sometimes the simplest decorating ideas turn out to be the cutest, and these little Christmas Lights Brownies are definitely one of my favorites!
