Easy Christmas Trifle Recipe- Layers of tasty brownie, chocolate pudding, and homemade whipped cream! All topped with holiday sprinkles and decorated REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Servings 15
Calories 552kcal
Author Lisa
Ingredients
Christmas Decorations
REESE'S Peanut Butter Treesfor just trees
HERSHEY’S Stocking Stuffer Shapesif using trees and snowflakes
Green Candy Melts*
Bright White Candy Melts
Refined Coconut Oil or Shortening*
Holiday Sprinkles
Skewers or Cake Pop Sticks
Brownies- you will need to make two batches of these
¾cup+ 3 tbs unsalted butter
¾cupHERSHEY'S Cocoa Powder*
1cupall-purpose flour
½teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
2cupssugar
1teaspoonespresso powder optional
4large eggs
1teaspoonvanilla
1cupchopped REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups and HERSHEY'S Chocolate KISSESI used candy from the HERSHEY'S Holiday Assortment candy
Chocolate Pudding
4cupsmilkcold
23.9 ounce packages instant chocolate pudding
Whipped Cream
4cupscold heavy whipping cream
1 ⅓cuppowdered sugar
1tbsvanilla extract
Instructions
Brownies- you will need to make two batches of these
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
In a microwave safe dish melt the butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until the butter is completely melted.
Stir cocoa powder into melted butter making sure there are no clumps. Set aside.
While butter mixture is cooling, in a separate small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, mix together the butter mixture (it’s okay if it’s still warm), sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla. Then add the eggs one at a time, letting each egg become fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next.
By hand, with a large rubber spatula or mixing spoon, fold in the flour mixture. Folding in the flour will help the brownie batter keep the air in it.
Pour into the prepared baking dish then pour chopped candy over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Repeat steps 1-8 for the second batch of brownies.
Chocolate Pudding
Combine cold milk and both packages of instant chocolate pudding mix. Whisk for two minutes then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Whipped Cream
Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on medium high until soft peaks form.
Decorating the Trees and Snowflakes
Melt 1 cup of green candy melts and 1 cup white candy melts (in separate bowls), each with 1 tbs coconut oil or shortening at a time. Heat for 30 seconds at 50% power, stir, repeat until melted. If the candy melts are still too thick stir in more coconut oil 1 teaspoon at a time until you get your desired consistency. *
Place candy melts in a piping bag with a small writing tip* (Wilton #3).
Place your REESE’S Peanut Butter Trees on a parchment lined baking sheet and pipe on a green tree on each one. Then add sprinkles to it*. I used a star sprinkle for the top of each tree then sprinkled on small round sprinkles to the rest the tree. Set aside to allow to harden.
Place your York Peppermint Pattie Snowflakes on a parchment lined baking sheet and pipe on a white snowflake on each one. Then add sprinkles to it. Set aside to allow to harden.
Once the candy melts have fully set up gently stick a skewer/cake pop stick into the bottom of each decorated candy*.
Assembling the Trifle
Break up your brownies into small pieces.
In a Trifle Dish add a layer of brownies, a layer of whipped cream, and a layer of chocolate pudding, then add another layer of brownies, whipped cream, and pudding, and add the remaining whipped cream on top.
Add sprinkles to the top then stick in the decorated REESE’S Peanut Butter Trees or York Peppermint Pattie Snowflakes.
If making individual Trifle cups, simply assemble each individual cup the same you would’ve a large trifle dish*.
Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Tips and Tricks
Refined coconut oil doesn’t have a coconut taste, unrefined does. You can use either or even shortening for thinning your candy melts.
The amount of coconut oil or shortening you use for thinning the candy melts can vary by several tablespoons due to the brand of candy melts, how old they are, etc.
I use a writing tip to pipe on the melted candy melts but you can also just cut a small hole in the corner of a ziploc baggie.
If you let the candy melts sit in the piping bags for too long, they will harden! So, make sure to get all your decorating done all at once.
Make sure to add sprinkles before the candy melts set up completely. That being said, if you add sprinkles right away the candy melts might be too liquidy and not hold the sprinkles in place. I’ve found piping on all the green (or white) candy melts at once, then going back and adding sprinkles gives enough time for the first few trees (or snowflakes) to have set up before decorating.
I used cake pop sticks but had to cut them to be the correct length for the trifle.
How many layers of brownies, pudding, and whipped cream you can fit in cups will vary based off of the size of the cup.
Nutrition info does not account for 2nd batch of brownies