Welcome to Day 11 of
The Twelve Days of Holiday Treats!
Once again, this year, from December 1st-12th I’ll post a new holiday treat recipe every day – inspiration for your holiday entertaining!
The recipes I’m sharing are small-er batch (perfect for this year when many of us will still be attending/ hosting smaller gatherings) – each recipe makes 1-dozen or a few more smaller-sized treats that are simple to prepare and that use everyday ingredients and equipment so hopefully you’ll be able to whip up any of these on a whim. Check out the treats from 2019 and 2020 at the bottom of this post too for more inspiration!
Today’s post is a couple of years in the making. Literally. Back in December of 2019, I was running the aftercare programme at my school and (very) often, I would do baking projects with the students (after they had prepared their snack themselves, of course!). We worked out way through a few iterations of my Jam Drops recipe (the aftercare crew helped me finalise that recipe!) and I had so many holiday baking projects up my sleeve that I ran out of time to complete. This is one of them!
If you Google “Strawberry Santa Hats” (which is how I got the idea – from one of my students who wanted to make them!), you get 4 million hits! This version is adapted from Snack Girl’s version – but switching out coconut for my beloved sprinkles (see below why coconut wasn’t my first choice for the in-school version).
When I am working with my students I am always looking for inclusive recipes – ones that don’t contain nuts or other allergens and quite often, I try to find gluten-free recipes as well so that, well, everyone can eat them. This recipe hits all of those targets if you choose your ingredients correctly!
What do you need for this recipe?
- Strawberries
- Marshmallows
- White chocolate
- Sprinkles (and for a non school-friendly version, coconut)
Things to be aware of when you are cooking with kids in a school setting
(and actually, anytime you are cooking with the public)
- Marshmallows are not vegetarian/ vegan friendly
- Not all chocolate is processed in a completely nut-free environment
- Not all sprinkles are gluten-free/ nut-free
- Coconut most likely won’t have been processed in a completely nut-free environment
I know, it looks like a lot to think about but trust me, you get really good at reading labels and really good at figuring out substitutes and what to do to make accommodations! It’s a good learning experience for me and also my students who are going to need to be able to navigate the supermarket themselves later on in life.
As I said, this recipe is PERFECT for schools (as long as your sprinkles are allergen-free!) and the coconut version is great if the coconut is ok with your guests!
These are fun, festive and delicious!
Strawberry Santa Hats
Easy Strawberry Santa Hats - a fun, festive edible craft!
Materials
- 12 strawberries
- approx. 1/2 cup (100g) white chocolate chips or melts
- approx. 1/4 cup sprinkles
- OR
- approx 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 6 mini marshmallows
Tools
- Small bowls
- Kitchen scissors
- Microwave
- Small sharp knife
- Small cutting board
- Parchment paper
- Small baking tray
Instructions
- Line a small baking tray with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave (50% power in bursts of 30 seconds) until nearly completely melted. Stir in the unmelted chips. Set aside to cool while you prepare the strawberries.
- Slice the leafy ends off of the strawberries so the bottom is flat and they stand up.
- Pour the sprinkles (or coconut) into a small bowl.
- Cut the mini marshmallows in half with kitchen scissors.
- Press the mini marshmallows, cut-side down onto the pointy end of each strawberry.
- Holding the strawberry by its sides with your thumb and index finger, dip the strawberries in the chocolate, making sure to coat the strawberry slightly up the sides (not just on the bottom).
- Dip or roll the melted chocolate coated part of the strawberry in the sprinkles.
- Place the dipped and rolled strawberry "hats" on the prepared baking tray. Continue until all strawberry hats are complete.
- Place the tray in the fridge for about 30 minutes until the chocolate is set. Best enjoyed the day they are made!
Notes
Adapted from Snack Girl's Strawberry Santa Hats
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Looking for allergen-free sprinkles? Check out Sweetapolita!
They have vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, Kosher-certified and naturally coloured sprinkles for all your needs – see here.
(NOT an affiliate link but I use these sprinkles all the time! They are fantastic!)
Baking up a storm? Check out Nuts.com for all your baking and cooking needs!
(this is an affiliate link, but I genuinely use Nuts.com products and love them. Highly recommended if you are in the US/ Canada where they currently ship)
Check out 2021’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Speculoos financiers
Day 2: Chocolate Dipped Orange Sugar Cookies
Day 3: Madeleines à la Clémentine
Day 4: Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Day 5: Sunbutter and Jam Chocolate Cups
Day 6: Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies
Day 7: Linzer Cookies
Day 8: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Day 9: Choc-Mint Thumbprint Cookies
Day 10: Pailles (Puff Pastry and Jam Cookies)
Day 11: Strawberry Santa Hats
Day 12: Mulled Wine Jam
Check out 2020’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Rice Krispie Wreaths
Day 2: Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Day 3: Peppermint Bark
Day 4: Orangettes
Day 5: Rocky Road Chocolate Crackle Slice
Day 6: Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Day 7: Orange Pim’s
Day 8: Mendiants
Day 9: Chewy Chocolate Mint Crackle Cookies
Day 10: Apricot, Coconut and Cranberry “truffles”
Day 11: Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Brownies
Day 12: Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Check out 2019’s 12 Days of Holiday Cookies:
Day 1: Easy Three Ingredient Shortbread
Day 2: Jam Drops
Day 3: Chocolate Caramel Slice
Day 4: Melting Moments
Day 5: White Christmas
Day 6: Langues de Chat
Day 7: Chocolate Coconut Slice
Day 8: Cornflake Biscuits
Day 9: Rocky Road
Day 10: Honey Joys
Day 11: Rum Ball Truffles
Day 12: Giant Florentine Cookie (to share)
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