In your bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water, sugar and yeast together. Stir together and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add in flour and salt. Mix with a dough hook until smooth. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut each string cheese sticks into 5 pieces. You will had a few extra since you only need 32.

Spray your counter with non-stick cooking spray. Cut the pizza dough into 32 pieces. I just the dough into 4 and make a rope out of each piece. Then cut each rope into 8 pieces.

Flatten out a piece of dough and place a piece of cheese in the center. Gather the dough up and around the cheese. Secure the dough around the cheese and roll evenly. Repeat until all 32 cheese balls are formed.

Arrange the balls on the prepared pan. Start with 7 balls on the bottom then build the tree up by placing one less ball on each row. Work your way up the tree in the order of 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Once you reach the top of the tree last four balls in two rows at the base of the tree for the trunk.

In a bowl, combine the melted butter with the parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Using a pastry brush, brush the dough balls generously with the topping mixture. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before putting into the oven.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Serve with a marinara sauce or pizza sauce on the side for dipping.