Don't worry, in our book, brownies 110% count as a Christmas cookie, an essential part of a rounded-out cookie tray. But if you know someone who needs further convincing, well, that's easy. Just dress them up for the holiday! Trim them, literally, into little trees, infuse them with flavors of the season (peppermint, anyone?) or make them extra-special with layers of frosting or Christmas-y themes. We're here for them all, and we know that wherever they appear, it will be to all a good night.

Ree Drummond lets guests customize their own brownies, dividing buttercream into red, white and green, and handing everyone their own piping bag. If more get consumed before they get decorated, is that really a problem? These have brown butter in them, lending a subtle boost of richness.

These will win as many oohs and ahs as any tree-lighting ceremony, but baking them is easier than popping a new tree into the tree base (or hauling your artificial fir down from the attic). The brownies, baked in a round cake pan and then cut into wedges, already start looking a lot like Christmas. Add some buttercream squiggles and a peppermint trunk and get ready to take your bow.

Often, it takes very little to elevate brownies to holiday-ready status! Here, the base is smartly a recipe of bittersweet brownies, the better to contrast with the sweet white chocolate frosting that will be slicked across the top. A sprinkling of chopped candy canes completes the bark effect and gives you a fun minty crunch to go with your brownie.

Maybe you know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen? Well, these little brownies call them to mind with a chuckle. Consider going with all brown noses and one red, for you-know-who.

Warning: It might be hard to go back to just regular brownies after one of these. Leave it to Ree to come up with the genius move of using those iconic mint chocolates to melt into a sort of quickie ganache to coat the mini-muffin brownies. Chop a few on top so that eaters know what's in store, and because that extra bit of minty texture takes these to eleven.

These brownies are both inspired by AND contain hot chocolate! The powder from the instant hot cocoa mix becomes the base for the brownies. The recipe is so simple, with the brownies being a one-bowl recipe, and the "frosting" being just chocolate chips sprinkled over them when they're still hot from the oven. Finally, some marshmallows remind us all of their roots.

Remember the days when you were so excited to wear your new red velvet dress to the holiday? (Maybe it's even this year!) In the same vein, red velvet brownies bring a dramatic look to the brownie form, more so with a swirly cheesecake topping. Come to think of it, we'd wear a dress with that pattern...

If a Reese's were converted into a slightly darker, slightly saltier confection, and also into a brownie, you'd end up with this, and we defy you to eat just one. The peanut butter layer is actually a peanut butter buttercream (bestill our hearts). The chocolate ganache sandwiches everything together and truly makes this a treat that Mel Torme would craft a torch song about if he had only lived to see them.

These are just darn-good brownies, in proportions that will be just right for the buffet. They're deep and dark and chocolatey, and cut into lots of mini bites. Which is perfect for a crowd, or just for a small group that just wants an excuse to eat a lot of brownies.

These brownies are just incredible, a nod to the great tradition of everything rich and even a little boozy on the cookie tray. Coffee in the brownie deepens its bitterness; cardamom in the bourbon frosting adds a note that's oh-so right. A chocolate ganache finishes these off — that is, until you do.