Description
Celebrate the holiday season with these adorable Strawberry Santas featuring a luscious cream cheese frosting. This easy and festive appetizer or dessert combines fresh strawberries with a creamy, sweet frosting and mini chocolate chip details to bring Santa Claus to your table in a delicious and charming way.
Ingredients
Scale
Strawberries
- 12 strawberries
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Decorations
- Mini chocolate chips (for eyes)
Instructions
- Prepare the Frosting: Place the softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Mix until creamy and well combined.
- Whip the Cream: Add the heavy cream to the bowl and mix using a hand mixer for 4-5 minutes until the frosting becomes thick, smooth, and creamy.
- Transfer to Piping Bag: Spoon the cream cheese frosting mixture into a piping bag to make decorating easy and precise.
- Prepare Strawberries: Carefully wash the strawberries and pat them dry thoroughly to ensure the frosting adheres well. Remove the green stems from each strawberry.
- Shape the Santa Hats: Cut about 1/4 inch off the top of each strawberry to create smaller cones that will serve as Santa’s hats, and set these aside.
- Assemble the Bodies: Pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the larger cut strawberry pieces to form Santa’s body and beard.
- Add the Hats: Place the smaller top pieces (Santa hats) onto the frosted larger strawberry bottoms to complete the Santa shape.
- Decorate the Hats and Faces: Optionally, dust powdered sugar on the hats to mimic snow. Use the piping bag to add a white pom-pom on the tip of each hat and pipe two side swirls for Santa’s mustache.
- Create the Eyes: Press two mini chocolate chips onto each strawberry face as eyes.
- Chill and Serve: Refrigerate the assembled Strawberry Santas until ready to serve. Enjoy this festive treat!
Notes
- Ensure strawberries are dry before assembling to help the frosting stick better.
- Use cold heavy cream for best whipping results.
- If you don't have a piping bag, a plastic zip-top bag with a corner snipped off works well.
- For a lighter option, use reduced-fat cream cheese and light whipping cream.
- Mini chocolate chips can be substituted with small edible decorations or seeds for eyes.
- Dusting with powdered sugar adds a festive snowy look but can be omitted if preferred.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 120 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
