If you are looking for a super cute Christmas dessert that the kids will not only love eating, but making too, then give these Strawberry Santa Hat Brownies a try. Just a few ingredients are needed to make these raw Christmas brownies and then top them with yogurt and strawberries to make Santa hats. Perfect for a Christmas party.
As soon as Halloween is gone, we start thinking about delicious festive treats. These Christmas brownies couldn't be any more perfect with their little Santa hats on. A simple blended mix of almonds, dates, cocoa, honey and festive spices rolled in to balls and then topped with yoghurt and a strawberry Santa hat. Kids will LOVE making and eating these.
If you are looking for some other ways to get kids involved in the kitchen this Christmas? Why not try our Christmas Rice Krispie Treats, Christmas Popcorn or Cinnamon Flapjacks?
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Why should you try it?
- A healthy Christmas snack - There are just 115 calories per brownie and they are packed full of natural ingredients.
- Raw - There is no cooking involved in there, as everything is just blended up and mixed together.
- Vegan option - You can easily make a vegan version of these by swapping honey for maple syrup and using a plant based yogurt on top.
- Fun for kids to eat and make - Kids will love making these and getting their hands all messy rolling them up.
- Perfect for a Christmas party - Instead of serving up the usual dessert, put these on a pretty board with some decorations. Your guests will love it!
What you will need
- Almonds - These are what make this a protein packed and filling snack. You could swap them some another nut like cashews or peanuts. It needs to be something that blends well, so anything you would usually find as a nut butter. You could use a mixture too, or even use seeds.
- Cocoa powder - This is what gives it all the chocolatey flavour. We used unsweetened and try to use the best quality that you can, as you really will be able to taste the difference.
- Dates - To give it some natural sweetness, and also the stickiness, we used pitted dates. You could use raisins instead, but it doesn't have the same consistency, and tends to fall apart a bit more.
- Honey - To give it some extra sweetness, we added a good quality honey. You could swap it for maple syrup if you wanted to keep these vegan.
- Water - This loosens the mixture up a little to make it more mouldable. You only need a tiny bit though.
- Strawberries - This is what makes up more of the actual Santa hat. Try to use even sized strawberries so they all look the same.
- Yogurt - This makes the lining and the bobble of the hat. We used 0% Greek yogurt. You could use a plant based yogurt if you wanted to keep these vegan.
Step by step
One: Blend the almonds until the are a fine flour texture. Add the cocoa powder and dates and blend until they are well chopped up.
Two: Tip the mixture in to a bowl with the honey and water.
Three: Mix well.
Four: Using your hands, make the mixture in to 12 balls. Press the balls down a little to make a flatter top. Add a teaspoon of yogurt to each ball.
Five: Add a strawberry and then a little more yogurt for the bobble of the hat.
Health benefits
Instead of using the standard buttery and sugary brownie as a base (which you could of course do), we used a raw brownie mixture that uses natural ingredients like nuts and dried fruit.
Despite nuts being high in fat, they are low in carbs, and a great source of several nutrients, including vitamin E, magnesium, and selenium. Nuts also contain antioxidants known as polyphenols. These are have been shown to protect your cells and “bad” LDL cholesterol from damage caused by free radicals.
Dates are a great source of fibre, which can benefit your digestive health by preventing constipation. It promotes regular bowel movements by contributing to the formation of stool.
We also just added a little extra sweetness with some honey, which also helps to bind everything together. But these are much less sweet than a more traditional baked brownie.
Flavouring
The great thing about these Santa Hat Brownies is how easy they are to adapt - you can add any of your favourite flavours to the brownie base. Peppermint extract will give it a really festive flavour, or you could use orange extract as chocolate and orange go so well together.
We used a little bit of ginger to give these some festive flavour, but you could use a mix of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
What to serve with Santa Hat Brownies
Looking for a nice warming drink to serve with this? Why not try our Chai Tea Latte, Cinnamon Coffee, Slow Cooker Mulled Wine or Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate.
Frequently Asked Questions
The brownies themselves would stay fresh in the fridge for about 5 days if you made extra of those (roll them in to balls for little raw snack bars), but it is the yogurt that wouldn't say fresh as long.
If you have made up the full Santa hat brownies, then they will be good in the fridge for about 48 hours.
No, we wouldn't recommend freezing these.
Yes, these are gluten free. Just be careful that there isn't any cross contamination.
Extra tips
- We used almonds to make the base of these strawberry Santa hat brownies, but you could use a mixture of other nuts like cashews and walnuts.
- Make flavoured brownies by adding peppermint or orange extract or ground ginger when you add the water.
- These brownies will keep in the fridge for 2 days.
- To make these vegan, use maple syrup instead of honey and use a vegan yogurt.
More Christmas desserts
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Santa Hat Brownies
Ingredients
- 100 g almonds
- 100 g cocoa powder unsweetened
- 150 g pitted dates finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 tablespoon water (maybe more if it is too dry)
- 12 strawberries (top sliced off)
- 13 teaspoon Greek yoghurt
Instructions
- Blend the almonds until the are a fine flour texture. Add the cocoa powder and dates and blend until they are well chopped up.100 g almonds, 100 g cocoa powder, 150 g pitted dates
- Tip the mixture in to a bowl with the honey and water.1 tablespoon honey, 6 tablespoon water
- Mix well.
- Using your hands, make the mixture in to 12 balls. Press the balls down a little to make a flatter top. Add a teaspoon of yoghurt to each ball.13 teaspoon Greek yoghurt
- Add a strawberry and then a little more yoghurt for the bobble of the hat.12 strawberries
Notes
- We used almonds to make the base of these brownies, but you could use a mixture of other nuts like cashews and walnuts.
- Make flavoured brownies by adding peppermint or orange extract or ground ginger when you add the water.
- These brownies will keep in the fridge for 2 days.
- To make these vegan, use maple syrup instead of honey and use a vegan yoghurt.
Jayne
Absolutely gorgeous. And relatively simple (famous last words - mine will probably look nothing like Santa hats). I'm not the most artistic of people - I might start a 'guess what these are' competition if they don't look like yours.
Kristine Doherty
If you make these a day ahead of time B4 your party, what is the best way to store so they will not dry out?
Dannii
You can keep them in the fridge.
Abby
Uh oh, mine are too moist, shall I add more almonds/almond meal?
Dannii
Yes, add some more almond meal or cocoa powder.
Abby
Thank you!
Magenta
These have a great balance of carbs, protein & fats, plus look great on a party platter!
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness
These are SO CUTE! I was just thinking about what holiday treat I can make for family members trying to lose weight, and I think these might be it!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine
These are adorable! I am totally pinning to remember to do this at Christmas. Love the ingredients in those brownie bites. I am with you-- why can't we celebrate holidays with mouth watering clean recipes, rather than use a celebration as an excuse to eat total junk??! I'd rather feel good... and I honestly prefer these types of sweets.
Valya @ Valya's Taste of Home says
These brownies are so pretty Dannii :)