Santa Hat Brownies

As soon as I saw my friend Jessy's post for Santa Hat Brownies I knew they needed to be part of our Christmas dinner. I emailed my mom to ask her to make the brownies and bring the rest of the ingredients to our house for dinner so Baby Girl could help her assemble them.


Watching the two of them assemble the brownies was priceless. Baby Girl loved helping and the resulting brownies were adorable. But man, are they rich! I don't eat dessert that often but I could barely finish one of these. I think the buttercream was very, very sugary and heavy so I, personally, would prefer whipped cream. I don't know how they whipped cream would hold up, but at least it would be lighter. Even so, these are a really cute addition to any Christmas table.

Santa Hat Brownies
Gourmet Day to Day

1 pan of brownies, baked and cooled
20-24 small strawberries
1 batch of buttercream frosting (or a frosting of your choice)

Buttercream Frosting
(you will have some extra buttercream left with this recipe)

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter (softened but not melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low-speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

To Assemble Brownies:

Using a small round cookie cutter or a small drinking glass, cut out brownies. Clean and remove stems from strawberries, cut the stems off flat so it will sit flat on the brownie. Place strawberries point side up on the center of each brownie circle.

Using a piping bag (or zip-top bag with the corner snipped to create a piping bag in a pinch) Pipe the frosting around the strawberry for the white rim of Santa’s hat and top each strawberry point with a small drop of frosting.

Note for storage: If you plan on refrigerating these cuties, make sure you chill them uncovered first. This will allow the buttercream to harden so you don’t you lose your cute Santa hat topper to plastic wrap!