Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberry Christmas Trees are the perfect festive treat! Made with plump, juicy strawberries, white chocolate and a few other basic ingredients they are impossible to resist.
Whether you are heading out to a work potluck and have no idea what to make or you just want something fun to enjoy at home, this strawberry tree recipe is here to save the day. I can’t resist Christmas themed food, especially desserts. While there is a time and place for long drawn out recipes, I love this one because it’s so simple. Heck, you can even gather the kids and have them help!
Create a magical holiday theme (like we did with the Strawberry Turkeys) by sprinkling coconut flakes for snow on top of a wooden surface or on top of green fabric that should be grass. Place items under the fabric to raise the trees up a bit so there is more elevation between them all.
🍽️ Why This Works
Family Friendly | Yep, kids and adults will enjoy making (and eating) these chocolate dipped strawberry trees. Break out the festive music and get busy!
Easy | The hardest part is waiting for the chocolate to set so you can eat them. Really! Even the youngest chefs can help and they come together like a charm.
Party Food | Take these with you to work and school and everyone is going to adore them. They will think you spent so much time and energy, but we know the truth. 😉
Delicious | Now these aren’t just for show! They actually taste amazing too. The combination of white chocolate with the strawberries and Oreos is incredible.
🍓 Ingredients
Oreo Cookies -They are the perfect base for these chocolate dipped Christmas trees. Don’t worry, if you don’t have Oreos, any small sandwich cookie will work.
Strawberries – It’s vital to use fresh, ripe strawberries. They are the key ingredient, so there really isn’t anything you can use instead of them.
White Chocolate – Using white chocolate is important so you can color it with gel food coloring. Or you could buy melting candy wafers in the color you like and omit the food coloring. Alternatively, use green melting chocolate that you can find at any baking shop.
Sprinkles – Any holiday sprinkles you like will work perfectly. I like to use stars for the topper and add in small sprinkles for the rest.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
Sharp Knife | It’s a good idea to invest in some really nice and sharp kitchen knives. You can use them for everything, so it’s worth it!
Spoon | Use a spoon for stirring the melting chocolate.
Parchment Paper | This can get a bit messy, so lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter and place the Oreos on it. Any chocolate drippings will be easy to clean up.
Toothpicks | This will save your fingers from getting too messy!
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Cut off the tops of each of the strawberries. Be sure to make the surface as flat as possible so your tree isn’t lopsided.
Step Two: Combine the white chocolate with the coconut oil and melt together. Melt until smooth and creamy.
Step Three: Use gel food coloring to adjust the color to the desired look.
Step Four: Carefully dip each strawberry in chocolate. Then place it on a tray that has been lined with wax paper.
Step Five: Add the star sprinkle to the top of each of the trees. Then add more sprinkles.
Step Six: Place the strawberry trees in the fridge to allow them to set up.
Step Seven: Add a small dab of chocolate to the center of each Oreo. Placed the strawberry on top to form the tree.
Step Eight: Refrigerate again, serve, and enjoy!
Storage
For best results, it’s best to eat them the day they are made. The cookies can become a little soggy as they sit due to the juices from the strawberries.
🍪 Variations
Feel free to experiment with the ingredients and style of your chocolate covered strawberry Christmas trees. They are so fun and festive, it’s easy to adjust them. Here are a few ideas.
Gingersnaps – Want something a little different? Add some gingersnaps to the trees instead of the traditional Oreo cookie! They taste great too.
Candy Melts – Skip the white chocolate and go for candy melts instead. You could choose lots of different colors. Think outside the box because you could make any color of tree you would like.
Chocolate Chip Cookies – Another tasty option is to go for chocolate chip cookies. Just make sure the size is about the same as the base of the strawberry to get the desired look.
❗ Expert Tips
- Don’t overheat the chocolate or it will seize up and you’ll lose that batch. Instead, heat for 10-15 seconds at a time, stir and heat some more. When the chocolate is about 70% melted, just stir it until it finishes melting.
- To keep your fingers from getting to messy, use a toothpick or fork. A wooden skewer would work also. I like to use my chocolate dipping tools as well.
- The chocolate will set pretty quickly, so you will need to work fast. Add the sprinkles while the chocolate is wet or they won’t stick.
- If water gets near the chocolate, you will have to start over as it will seize up and get grainy. Any water content of 3-4% of the weight will cause it to do this.
- If you want a thinner chocolate, add a drop or two of vegetable oil and make it thinner.
Recipe FAQ
I prefer to use basic almond bark or white baking chocolate. You can use chocolate wafers as well.
If your chocolate is clumpy, there are a couple of things that could have happened. First, you may not have melted it properly, to begin with. The chocolate needs to be smooth before you start or they aren’t going to turn outright.
The other thing is that the chocolate could have seized up. This happens from heating too much or if liquid gets into the chocolate. If this happens, it is best to throw it out and start over. Cooks Illustrated offers a last ditch option to reverse the reaction that you can try when you are out of chocolate and this is your last hope.
You can smooth it and reheat it by placing it back in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it for 15-20 seconds and stir. Repeat the process until it’s all melted. You generally can only do this once or so before it will seize and become crumbly.
I recommend using fresh strawberries that are firm. Soft strawberries are going to leak more juice everywhere and they will make the cookies soft and mushy much faster.
Serving Suggestions
Are you decorating the tree, opening up gifts or having friends over to snacks and game night? All of these occasions deserve a little extra “something” to go with these trees!
Drinks
Cookies and Cream Hot Chocolate
Snacks
8 Different Christmas Cookies from the Same Dough
Related Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Strawberry Christmas Trees
Equipment
- Fork or Chocolate Dipping Tools
- Bowl
Ingredients
- Oreo Cookies
- Strawberries
- Melting Chocolate
- Green Food Coloring or gel
- Coconut Oil
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Cut the tops off of the strawberries to form a flat surface for the tree base.
- Using a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate with just a little coconut oil to make it smooth.
- Add gel coloring if desired and stir until smooth. This is the time where it is great to decide how light or dark you want your trees. Use multiple different bowls to make different colors so your forest of cookies all look different.
- Using a toothpick, fork, or chocolate dipping tools, dip the strawberries in chocolate and plate on wax paper lined tray or plate to harden.
- Immediately place star sprinkle on top of tree and decorate with additional sprinkles as desired.
- Place in refrigerator to harden up and set.
- Spoon a small dab of melted chocolate in the center of the cookie and place the strawberry tree on top. Place back in the refrigerator to harden and set. They are ready to enjoy!
Notes
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