How To Make Adorable Edible Pine Cone Brownies

Pine cones are a staple of the holiday season, whether you’re crafting or decorating your home. But did you know you could eat them too?

Not in the traditional sense. I’m talking about making adorable edible pine cones from brownie pieces and chocolate cereal.

This is a great way to use any leftover brownies (or cake, or cookies, and so on) to create something new and perfect for a holiday party. Since there are never any ‘leftover’ brownies in my house, I’m making these from scratch. But you have plenty of options when making this recipe, which I’ll get into later.

The Brownie Recipe

There are many ways to make a brownie, and by extension, many ways to make these pine cones. I always prefer making my brownies from scratch to have complete control over the outcome. There’s no worry about texture or (most importantly) taste if you make them yourself.

The recipe below is one I’ve tried and tested after making countless batches. In case you haven’t already guessed, I’m serious about my brownies. This recipe delivers the perfect combination of a fudgy chocolatey interior and a crunchy top that make brownies so irresistible. Plus, the texture sticks together well—an important feature we’ll get to later.

If you’re not an avid baker, you can always use your favorite brownie box mix too. Or, you could buy your brownies and break them down to turn them into edible pine cones.

However, I will say that this recipe is super easy to follow and doesn’t require any specialized baking equipment. It also doesn’t take much time—less than an hour overall. You’ll likely spend more time putting the pine cones together than you do baking them from scratch.

Alternatives

Although this recipe is brownie-based, you don’t strictly have to use brownies to make your edible pine cones. The only criteria to consider are color (pine cones are brown after all) and texture. Whatever you choose needs to hold together well, either on its own or with the help of another ingredient.

For example, this is a great craft to use leftover slices of chocolate cake or cupcakes (if you can find any). All you need is a little extra frosting to mix with the crumbled cake pieces, helping it hold its shape. The same goes for leftover cookies or other cakey desserts.

What You’ll Need

If you are following this recipe exactly, these are the items you’ll need to grab before you start.

Brownie Ingredients

These are my go-to brownie ingredients that combine some of my favorite elements from various versions I’ve tried over the years. Each recipe out there puts its own spin on brownies, from the amount of sugar to the number of eggs, resulting in a range of textures and flavors. This version brings it all together to make fudgy, rich brownies with a delightful crust that’s perfect for shaping.

It includes:

• Sugar: A mix of both granulated and powdered sugar.
• Cocoa powder: Use quality cocoa powder.
• Flour: Go for all-purpose flour without any added rising agents.
• Chocolate chips: For a triple-chocolate effect, I use a mix of milk, dark, and white chocolate chips. You can leave these out, but it does impact the texture.
• Wet ingredients: Eggs, vegetable oil, and melted butter.
• Vanilla extract

When you’re ready to bake, gather two mixing bowls, a whisk, a spatula, and an 8″ x 8″ baking pan. The pan size is important: an 8″ x 8″ pan will give you brownies that are just the right thickness and bake evenly.

Toppings

Although the actual brownies are important to get right, arguably, the most important part of this recipe is the toppings. Without them, you’ll just have a lump of brownie in a cone shape with nothing to make it look like an actual pine cone.

Chocolate cereal is a must-have, as it mimics the look of a pine cone perfectly. They should be large and slightly spoon-shaped to create that rustic pine cone look. If you have a few options available, choose larger ones that will hold their structure well. You don’t want the cereal pieces to keep breaking as you’re trying to place them.

If you can’t find a chocolate cereal with the right shapes, it is possible to create the same look with other flavored cereals. But in that case, you’ll have to cover the entire thing in melted chocolate, which does take away from the texture and overall look. Unfortunately, just sticking any cereal in won’t make it look like a pine cone—it will just look like a brownie with cereal bits poked into it.

The Process

Once you’ve found the perfect cereal and have your ingredients ready, it’s time to start baking. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease your 8×8 baking tray with butter or cooking spray in preparation for the baking process.

Step 1: Mix Your Ingredients

Start by separating the dry and wet ingredients into two separate bowls. These are combined individually before being mixed together to form the brownie batter.

For the dry ingredients, measure out and mix:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Once the wet ingredients are completely combined, slowly start adding the dry ingredients to combine them. Stop mixing once everything is incorporated and avoid overmixing if you can. The batter will be quite thick and not like a liquid, so don’t worry if it seems stiff.

Step 2: Bake Brownies

Spoon your batter into the greased baking dish and spread it out to all corners. Use your spatula to level out the mixture so the top is flat and the thickness even. If there are uneven patches, your brownie square will bake unevenly.

Bake in the preheated oven for around 22-30 minutes. Keep an eye out on the dish as you go and pull it out if the edges start looking like they will burn. It’s far better to undercook than overcook these brownies, as they will continue to harden once they are out of the oven.  

Step 3: Allow to Cool

That whole process doesn’t take much time. What does take time is waiting for the brownies to cool. Although you may be tempted to work with them right away, the brownies need time to cool and set completely before you break them down. Leave them for at least a couple of hours, and even transfer them to the refrigerator overnight to make them a little easier to work with later on.

Step 4: Break them Down

The next step is a little tough to complete, but I promise it’s worth it. You need to take that delicious brownie square you’ve baked and break it down into small crumbs. Unfortunately, you will struggle to shape accurate pine cones without this step.

You can use a knife for this process, but it’s far easier to just get your hands dirty (as long as they started out clean, of course). You’ll need to use your hands for molding later anyway. Crumble the brownie pieces into a bowl until you’ve broken down the whole square.

When you’re done, take a small section of crumbs and squeeze them together in your hands. If the shape holds well, you can move on to the next step. If it’s still a little crumbly, add a few spoons of frosting and stir together until you can create a shape that holds together without you touching it.

Step 5: Mold the Pine cones

Grab a handful of brownie crumbs and squeeze them together in your hand to make a cohesive ball shape. Then, gently thin out one end and flatten the other to form a cone shape. These can be as small or as large as you want, but I would recommend taking the size of your cereal into consideration to make the pine cones look as accurate as possible.

Lay your cones out onto a tray when you’re ready, leaving plenty of space between each one. You need room to add the cereal pieces all the way around the cones in the next step.

Step 6: Add the Cereal

For this next step, grab a pair of kitchen tweezers. You can use your fingers, but it’s much harder to place the individual pieces accurately and without breaking anything as you go.

Pour your chocolate cereal into a bowl and keep it nearby. Using the tweezers, pick up a piece of cereal from the long end and press it into the brownie cone, facing upwards. Start from the bottom and work your way up, overlapping each piece as you go.

Continue placing each piece at regular intervals around the cone until you reach the top. Avoid placing them too uniformly—you want them to look as natural as possible.

Step 7: Dust to Serve

Before you dig into these delicious edible pine cones, there is one last step to complete. Using a sieve, dust each pine cone with a layer of powdered sugar. Not only does this give the pine cones that snowy Christmas look, but it also blends the brownie and cereal together visually to make them look even more realistic.

These pine cones are definitely a crowd-pleaser and one you’ll want to bring out again and again over the years. If by some miracle you do have any leftovers, they will last around three days in an airtight container, or you can place them in the freezer.