Santa Hats

5 from 2 votes

Delightful Santa Hats made with brownie mini-muffins and strawberries are sure to delight young and old. This festive dessert is fun to make and impressive to serve. The brownie mini-muffins can be made ahead of time and topped with the strawberries and frosting right before serving. This way, you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time celebrating the holiday season with family and friends.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Assembly Time15

Total Time50

Course: Cakes, Chrismas, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Santa Hats

Calories: 164kcal

Ingredients

Brownie Mini-Muffins

1 large egg
¼ cup water
¼ cup vegetable oil
18 ounce package Brownie Mix (See Tip 1)

Strawberries

24 fresh strawberries

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 Tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature (See Tip 2)
1 Tablespoon heavy cream (See Tip 3)
⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Brownie Mini-Muffins

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 24 cup mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray. (See Tip 4)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, water and vegetable oil. Add contents of brownie mix. Stir with wooden spoon until well mixed.
Fill cups of mini-muffin pan ¾ full with brownie mixture. (See Tip 5)
Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven; allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove brownies from pan to a wire rack. Press tops with fingers to flatten. Allow brownies to cool completely. (May be made in advance up to this point)

Strawberries

An hour before assembling the Santa Hats, wash and dry strawberries. Cut stem end to produce flat surface. Place cut side down on paper towels to draw out excess moisture.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat together cream cheese, cream and salt. Add confectioners' sugar a cup at a time. Beat until smooth and creamy. If needed add additional cream to achieve desired piping consistency.

Assembly

Transfer cream cheese frosting to piping bag fitted with #21 star tip.
Pipe a small amount of frosting onto top of brownie. Place strawberry, cut side down on top of brownie. Pipe stars around bottom of strawberry. Pipe a star on tip of strawberry. Repeat with remaining brownies and strawberries.
Yield: 24 Santa Hats.

Notes

I used Ghiradelli Triple Fudge Brownie mix, but you could use whatever brownie mix you like. You could also use home-made brownies.
I used full fat cream cheese, but reduced fat cream cheese would also work.
You may need to add a bit more cream to achieve the desired piping consistency. If you do add more, add small amounts. A small amount of cream can make a huge difference in the consistency of the frosting!
I use a non-stick spray that's similar to Baker's Joy. Just be sure that the cups of the mini-muffin pan are well greased. Otherwise, the brownies will stick.
I always use an ice cream scoop to fill the cups of the mini-muffin pan. The one that I use doesn't have a number on it, but has a diameter of 1 ½-inches.

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