How to Make Strawberry Santa Hat Brownies
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Strawberry Santa Hat Brownies are the perfect Christmas treat to serve at your family gathering. Not only do they taste great, but they are super cute too!
Rich, chocolatey brownies topped with fresh whipped cream and sweet strawberries come together to make a great-tasting festive treat.
Strawberry Santa Hat Brownies
Santa hat brownies are the perfect holiday treat to share with family and friends at your upcoming holiday party or get-together! Not only are they visually pleasing – with the cute little strawberry Santa hats atop each chocolatey brownie – but they also taste delicious!
The brownies are made with a classic, fudgy brownie recipe that is sure to please even the pickiest of brownie connoisseurs. The addition of the strawberry and whipped cream “hats” add an extra sweetness and festive flair that will have everyone oohing and ahhing over them.
Making them in the mini muffin tin makes for a perfect two-bite holiday treat.
If pressed for time, the brownies can be made a week or two in advance and frozen, so there is one less thing to prepare as the holidays get closer. Just pull them out of the freezer and top them with the strawberries before serving.
Even better, if you are in a rush or need a last-minute treat, store-bought brownie bites work just as well!
Why You Should Make Santa Hat Brownies
- They are so darned cute!
- Easy to prepare
- Festive
Santa Hat Brownie Ingredients + Tips
(Ingredients at a glance, find the full recipe in the printable card at the bottom of the post.)
For the brownies:
- Butter | I used unsalted butter in this recipe, but if you only have salted butter on hand, that will also work; just omit the extra salt.
- Chocolate chips | The recipe calls for a semi-sweet morsel, but dark chocolate will also work.
- Sugar | – White granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract| I prefer to use real vanilla extract, but imitation will also work.
- Salt | A touch of salt enhances the flavor of these brownies. Any kind of salt will work.
- Eggs| Large.
- Cocoa powder| Unsweetened cocoa powder adds just the right amount of chocolate to these brownies. You can substitute it with Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- Flour| All-purpose flour is the best option for this recipe.
For the Santa Hats:
- Whipping cream| Use heavy whipping cream for the topping for a rich, creamy taste.
- Sugar| A touch of white sugar adds some sweetness to the whipping cream.
- Vanilla extract| Again, I prefer real vanilla extract but imitation also works.
- Strawberries| Use fresh strawberries to top the brownies.
How To Make Strawberry Santa Hats
1 Preheat oven to 350º.
2 Place butter and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 15 seconds at a time until just melted, but not hot. (You can also do this in a double boiler setup on the stove.)
3 Combine flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.
4 Whisk eggs, and stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Then Stir in melted chocolate and butter until fully incorporated.
5 Fold in the flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
6 Spoon batter into 28 greased mini muffin tins. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a brownie bite comes out clean.
7 Let cool for 5 minutes before loosening the edges of brownie bites with a butter knife and removing them from the pan.
8 While cooling, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
9 Let the brownies cool completely before adding the Santa hat. Once cool, pipe whipped cream (or drop a dollop from a spoon) onto each brownie bite, and top with a strawberry cap. Then pipe a bit of icing on top of the Strawberry Santa Hats. (I used a Wilton #21-star tip).
Recipe Tips
- Bring ingredients to room temperature before you start preparing the brownies. (Including the eggs. Room temp eggs will mix into the batter faster.)
- Make sure to measure the flour accurately. I recommend that you give your flour a stir, then scoop it out with a spoon into your measuring cup, then use a butter knife to level off the top of the measuring cup. You do not want to “pack” the flour into the measuring cup by scooping the measuring cup into the flour.
- Grease the mini muffin tray well, so the brownies don’t get stuck. You could also use mini muffin tin liners.
- Do not overbake, mini brownie bite can dry out quickly.
- Dry the strawberries really well before placing them on top of the brownie.
- If the strawberries are too big, you can cut them down a bit.
Variations
- Top the strawberries with a mini marshmallow instead of whipped topping.
- Add white chocolate chips to the brownie mix.
- Throw in some chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts.
Pin this recipe for later
FAQs
Can I Use A Brownie Mix Instead Of Making The Brownies From Scratch?
Yes, you can use a brownie cake mix and then follow the directions for the topping. You can also use store-bought brownie bites.
Can I Use A Cool Whip Instead Of Making Whipped Cream?
Yes, Cool Whip is fine. You may want to add it to a bag and pipe it onto the brownies and strawberry tops. (You can add the cool whip to a zip lock bag and snip the corner for easy piping.)
Can I Make These Brownies In Advance?
Yes, the brownies can be made in advance and even frozen if you want to get ahead of the game. Once the brownies have cooled, put them in the freezer on a lined baking sheet pan for an hour or two. Once frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. or container. Flash-freezing them this way ensures the brownies will not stick together.
Remove from the freezer, thaw, and then add the strawberries and whipped cream just before serving them.
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries To Make These Santa Hat Brownies?
I would not recommend using frozen strawberries as they may have too much moisture. Fresh is best.
What Do I Do If I Don’t Have Piping Tips?
If you don’t have any Wilton piping tips, you can place the whipped cream in a zip-loc type plastic bag, cut off a tiny portion of one of the corners and squeeze a touch of the whipped cream onto each strawberry.
Looking for more Christmas Cookies?
- Homemade Eggnog
- Soft Lofthouse Christmas Cookies
- Quick and Easy Peppermint Twist Cookies
- Grinch Cookies
- Saltine Cracker Toffee (Christmas Crack)
Did You Try These Strawberry Santa Hats?
Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. If you share an image on Instagram or Facebook, be sure to tag me and use #scatteredmomrecipes!
Print
Santa Hat Brownies
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 28 brownie bites 1x
- Category: desserts
- Method: oven
Description
Strawberry Santa Hat Brownies are the perfect Christmas treat to serve at your family gathering. Rich, chocolatey brownies topped with fresh whipped cream and sweet strawberries come together to make a darling and great-tasting festive treat.
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ cup flour
For the Strawberry Santa Hats:
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 28 strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Place butter and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 15 seconds at a time until just melted, but not hot. (You can also do this in a double boiler setup on the stove.)
- Combine flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.
- Whisk eggs, and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt.
- Stir in melted chocolate and butter until fully incorporated.
- Fold flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
- Spoon batter into 28 greased mini muffin tins.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a brownie bite comes out clean.
- Let cool 5 minutes before loosening the edges of brownie bites with a butter knife and removing them from the pan.
- Let cool completely.
- While cooling, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Pipe whipped cream (or drop a dollop from a spoon) onto each brownie bite, and top with a capped strawberry.
Notes
You may need to cut your strawberries down a bit to make them fit on top of the Brownies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 santa hat brownie
- Calories: 122
- Fat: 7
- Carbohydrates: 14
- Protein: 1
Don't miss any more posts!
