Holiday party season is finally here and I couldn't be more excited. I'll take any excuse to get creative in the kitchen, but Christmasthemed baking really gets me going. Here's a simple, festive recipe to impress your guests without spending hours in the kitchen. You'll need:

For brownies:
- 1/2 cup butter, plus 1 tbsp.
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, plus 1 tbsp
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with 1 tbsp. of butter and dust it with 1 tbsp. of cocoa powder until it's coated.

2. Cream together the remaining butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and stir until just combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until completely combined. Be careful not to over-mix or your brownies will be too fluffy.

If you're short on time, use a brownie mix and follow the directions on the box.

For decoration:
- 1/2 cup green chocolate wafers (you'll find these at most bulk stores)
- 1/4 cup sprinkles or small candies (again, try the bulk store)
- 8 small yellow chocolate candies

4. When your brownies have cooled, cut them like a pie into eight equal slices.

5. Put your green chocolate wafers into a resealable bag and microwave them on high for 30 second bursts. Between each blast, squish the chocolate around to help it melt. This should only take about two minutes.

6. Working one brownie at a time, snip a small hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate back and forth across the brownie. Before it cools, sprinkle decorations into the chocolate. Put a little dab of chocolate on the back of your yellow "star" and stick it to the top of the brownie tree. Repeat this with each of your eight slices.

These will keep for a few days in an airtight container, though I can't imagine they'll last that long. But hey, they are so easy to make that you may as well whip up a forest of Christmas tree brownies!