OK, confession first. I can finish two of these in the car before I’m even home from the store. The boxes show up in October now, sometimes earlier, and my kids start begging the second they spot that red and green packaging. So this year we made our own. It took a couple of tries. Worth it.
Same soft vanilla cake. Same sticky marshmallow filling. Same white shell with the green squiggles and red sprinkles. Just fresher, and you decide if it’s 12 or 24.
Why Everyone Is Making Them This Year
Quick bit of history, since I went digging. McKee Foods, the Tennessee family company behind Little Debbie, first sold Christmas Tree Cakes in 1985, so they hit 40 last year. For 2026 there’s a single-serve pack and some new Hot Cocoa Mini Muffins (haven’t tried those yet, no opinions). And on Pinterest, searches for “little debbie christmas tree recipes” jumped roughly 1,500% in a single month this fall. Dips, cheesecakes, bark. People want to play with this cake.
The One Trick That Matters
Freeze the filled cake before you cut it. Thirty minutes, no shortcuts. Soft cake plus soft filling equals the cutter squishing everything out the sides, and your trees come out lumpy and sad. Cold cake gives you sharp little points. Scraps? Roll them into cake balls. Nobody has to know. And if you want neater stripes than candy melts give you, pipe them with my royal icing instead.
Homemade Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 190 g
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 g
- 1/2 cup whole milk 120 ml, warm
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 57 g, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 113 g, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar 120 g
- 1 jar marshmallow creme 7 oz / 198 g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 24 oz white candy melts 680 g
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or shortening
- 1/4 cup green candy melts 45 g
- 2 tablespoons red nonpareil sprinkles
Equipment
- Half sheet pan (13 x 18 inch)
- Parchment paper
- 3 1/2 inch Christmas tree cookie cutter
- Stand or hand mixer
- Wire rack
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a half sheet pan (13 x 18 inch) with parchment and grease it lightly.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on high for 5 minutes, until pale, thick and about doubled.
- Stir the melted butter and vanilla into the warm milk. Fold the flour into the eggs in two additions, then fold in the milk mixture just until smooth.
- Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake 12 to 14 minutes, until the top springs back. Cool completely.
- For the filling, beat the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the marshmallow creme, vanilla and salt and beat 1 more minute.
- Cut the cake in half crosswise. Spread the filling over one half, top with the other half, press gently and freeze 30 minutes.
- Cut out trees with a 3 1/2 inch tree cutter, wiping it between cuts. Keep the trees cold while you melt the coating.
- Melt the white candy melts with the coconut oil in 30-second bursts, stirring each time. Dip each tree, let the extra drip off and set it on a parchment-lined rack.
- Melt the green candy melts, spoon into a zip bag, snip a tiny corner and pipe zig-zag stripes across each tree. Add red sprinkles right away. Chill 30 minutes until firm.
Nutrition
Notes
Private Notes
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Bake a batch this weekend, then come back and tell me if they fooled anybody at your house. A star rating on the recipe card honestly helps other bakers find it. And pin it now, before December gets crazy.
