Sweet Christmas trees are a cute and tasty idea to bring to the table during the Christmas holidays or to prepare for a joyful snack dedicated to children.
It’s an easy and super quick recipe, perfect for those short on time or not very familiar with desserts. They can be made in many different flavors: I tried some last year, but you can really get creative as you like.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very affordable
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- sandwich bread
- whipping cream
- Nutella®
- 9 oz sheep's ricotta cheese
- chopped pistachios
- chocolate chips
- grated coconut
- 5/8 cup sugar
- ground cinnamon
- Nutella®
- 9 oz mascarpone cheese
- pistachio cream
- 7 fl oz whipping cream
Preparation
To prepare the sweet Christmas trees, start by cutting the square slices of white sandwich bread (without crust) in half.
Nutella: Spread Nutella with a spatula on the bread triangles and decorate with grated coconut or chopped pistachios.
Whipped cream: Preferably use sweetened plant-based cream, whip it following the package instructions, and spread it on the bread triangles. Decorate with dark chocolate chips.
Ricotta: Take 9 oz of sheep’s ricotta cheese and add 5/8 cup of sugar. Mix with a whisk until you get a smooth and homogeneous mixture. If desired, add a pinch of cinnamon. Spread on the bread and decorate with chopped pistachios.For other variations, you can use ready-made pistachio cream, or a combination of Nutella and whipped cream. For the latter, add a couple of tablespoons of soft Nutella to 7 fl oz of whipped cream and gently mix from top to bottom, being careful not to deflate the cream. The mixture should assume a nice uniform hazelnut color.
Another highly appreciated variant is Nutella and mascarpone cream. Work 9 oz of mascarpone with 3 tablespoons of Nutella for a couple of minutes with an electric whisk until you get a creamy and homogeneous mixture, then use it to garnish your bread trees.
Tips
For an even more Christmas-like touch, you can complete your sweet bread trees by decorating them with sugar stars, easily found in supermarkets, which will make the preparation even more festive and scenic.
