Description
Strawberry Santa's with Cream Cheese Frosting are a festive and delightful holiday treat featuring fresh strawberries topped with a creamy vanilla-infused cream cheese frosting, decorated with mini chocolate chip eyes and a snowy powdered sugar finish. Perfect for an appetizer or dessert at your holiday gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
Strawberries and Decoration
- 12 strawberries
- Mini chocolate chips (for eyes)
- Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Place cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Mix until creamy and smooth.
- Whip the Heavy Cream: Add heavy cream to the cream cheese mixture and mix for 4-5 minutes until the frosting becomes thick, smooth, and creamy.
- Prepare the Strawberries: Wash the strawberries carefully and dry them completely to prevent the frosting from slipping off.
- Cut Strawberries for Santa Shape: Remove the stems and cut 1/4 off the top of each strawberry to create smaller cones to act as Santa’s hats. Set these aside.
- Pipe the Frosting on Larger Strawberry Bottoms: Use a piping bag to apply the cream cheese frosting onto the bottom larger pieces of strawberries, forming Santa's beard.
- Assemble the Santa Hats: Place the smaller top strawberry pieces (Santa hats) on top of the larger strawberry bases topped with frosting.
- Add Finishing Touches: Optionally dust powdered sugar over the hats for a snowy effect, then pipe a white pom-pom at the hat tip and two side swirls to create Santa's mustache.
- Add Eyes: Place two mini chocolate chips on each Santa for eyes.
- Chill and Serve: Refrigerate the assembled Strawberry Santas until ready to serve. Enjoy your festive and delicious treat!
Notes
- Ensure strawberries are completely dry before frosting to allow the frosting to adhere properly.
- Use a small round piping tip for precise frosting application.
- Powdered sugar can be omitted if you prefer a less sweet or cleaner look.
- For a dairy-free version, substitute cream cheese and heavy cream with vegan alternatives.
- If mini chocolate chips are unavailable, finely chopped dark chocolate can be used for the eyes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Strawberry Santa
- Calories: 120 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
