Carrots, olives, cream cheese and toothpicks are all you need to craft these amazingly cute Olive Penguins. Add a single chive for a handsome scarf, if you like. Easy to make, they are fun to share with family and friends.
Food Fun
Don’t you love this huddle of adorable penguins? I discovered them in a post by Mari, at Once Upon a Plate. They are so wonderfully cute! And, then again, they are so cleverly simple. Composed of just a few ingredients, a couple of cuts, then threaded on a toothpick, they can’t help but make me smile.
When I saw these Olive Penguins I knew that I would have to try making some during the holiday season. After all, it is the perfect time to share a smile and a bit of childlike wonder with friends and family. I checked my refrigerator and pantry to make sure I had the right ingredients on hand and let that thought rest in the back of my mind.
Then, yesterday, it snowed again. The roads looked slushy and I planned to stay inside and try some new recipes. I made some Cauliflower Pakoras with Cilantro Mint Dipping Sauce to add interest to our midday meal. Baking a batch of Gingerbread Biscotti made the kitchen smell warm and inviting. That accomplished, it seemed like the perfect time to put together some penguins.
To Make Olive Penguins
These Olive Penguins were simple to make, though they took a while. What’s more they turned out to look just as pretty as I’d hoped. In fact, they were so delightful that I took them outside to introduce them to the snow on my back deck. I joined them there to capture a few pics and to enjoy the beauty of this unexpected window dressing.
If you’d like to make some penguins too, here’s what you’ll need:
- canned olives, extra large and small
- cream cheese
- a carrot
- toothpicks
- chives (optional)
This isn’t exactly a recipe but I’ve described the steps I took to make this huddle of penguins. Most of all, have fun and enjoy the process. I hope you smile as much as I did!
Penguins in the Snow
Course: AppetizersCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy12
servings10
minutes30
minutes40
minutesCarrots, olives and cream cheese with toothpicks are all you need to craft these amazingly cute Olive Penguins.
Ingredients
1 can extra large pitted black olives
1 can small pitted black olives
1 8-oz package of Cream Cheese
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 package round toothpicks
Fresh chives, if desired
Directions
- Drain one can of extra large and one can of small pitted black olives.
- Make a vertical slice in the extra large olives from the criss-cross at the top to the hole at the bottom.
- Fill each extra large olive with cream cheese. I cut a block of cream cheese into rectangular chunks that looked to be about the right size. Then I opened the slice and stuffed in the cream cheese piece smoothing a 1/4 -1/2 inch wide line of cream cheese between the two sides of the slice. When the olives are stuffed refrigerate them until you are ready to assemble the penguins.
- Peel a carrot and cut it in 1/4 inch thick slices. Cut a small pie shaped wedge from each slice and set these to the side.
- Gather the small olives, the stuffed olives, the carrot pieces and some round toothpicks. Pierce a small olive sideways with a toothpick. Push the toothpick through and thread one of the cream cheese stuffed olives lengthwise beneath it. then push the bottom of the toothpick into the center of a carrot slice, lining up the opening where the wedge was cut away with the stripe of cream cheese above.
- Set the stack upright balancing on the carrot slice. Position the small olive so that the hole faces forward in line with the cream cheese slice and place a small carrot wedge in the hole to form a beak.
- If desired, take a fresh chive and slit it in two lengthwise. Wrap one piece around the penguin’s “neck” and arrange it like a scarf. Trim away any excess.
- Arrange penguins on a plate to serve as appetizers or use as a garnish for other dishes.
These penguins are adorable! We love olives and love to have appetizers at functions so we’ll try them. Maybe at a Renovare function? Uh oh….
Ha ha, love them in the snow!
those are sooooooo cute! i saw these last year as well. if only i liked eating olives! i love how you put scarves on some of them 🙂
I love these!
ooooh, the cuteness of it all! i’m particularly fond of the wee little scarf–very innovative use of chives!
Lisa, Great job!
I’m so happy you had fun making them and thank you for linking back to my blog.
Happy Holidays!
xo~m.
These are adorable, Lisa. I love the addition of the chive neck scarf. Just too cute for words!
These are the cutest things. I’d pop in an old movie, settle in and have some fun making these. Thanks for sharing them.
Lisa, these are just adorable. You’ve made me smile. What a great way to spend a cold and snowy day.