Strawberry Santas

These Strawberry Santas piped with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream and decorated for the season are the cutest things you’ll see on the dessert table this Christmas!

Close up shot of a Strawberry Santa on a green platter

I am always looking for easy, cute recipes I can make with my daughter and this one is just perfect for kiddos to get their hands messy in the kitchen AND to add to your holiday spread!

And if you love cutesy, easy, festive treats like these, you will love my Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board and Easy Christmas Tree Brownies!

Why You’ll Love These Strawberry Santas

If you love having the cutest desserts at a holiday party, this is the recipe for you! I always get compliments on these little Santas! They are so adorable and perfect for parties, holiday potlucks and even as teacher gifts!
The filling is SO easy to make and very unique because it uses a stabilizer – cream cheese instant pudding!
You can prepare these ahead of time and pull them out of the fridge when you’re ready to serve! Easy peasy!

Strawberry Santas on a cutting board in a flying V pattern

Ingredients:

Strawberries
Heavy Cream
Instant Cheesecake Pudding Mix
Powdered Sugar
Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Red, Round Sprinkles

See recipe card for quantities.

Ingredients for making Strawberry Santas: Strawberries, Heavy Cream, Instant Pudding, Powdered Sugar, Mini Chocolate Chips, Red Sprinkles

How to Make Strawberry Santas

Rinse and pat dry your strawberries.
Cut the stems off of the top of each strawberry and turn them over making the top of the strawberry the base of the santa. (The pointed end will be facing upwards)
Then cut off the pointed part of the strawberry, about a 3rd of the way down, to make the santa hat. (Make sure as you are cutting the hats that you keep them with the correct base so they are easier to assemble later.) Set the strawberries aside.
To make the stabilized whipped cream for the face and beard of each santa, pour your heavy cream into a bowl and use a handheld or stand mixer to beat the cream until it begins to set up. (about 2 minutes)
Then add the instant cheesecake pudding mix and powdered sugar and continue beating until fully combined and stiff peaks form.
Cut the tips off two plastic sandwich baggies and fit them with piping tips (Wilton 190 Open Star for the face/beard and hat pom pom – Wilton Round Tip #2 for the buttons)
Add 3/4ths of the whipped cream to the Star Tip piping bag and 1/4th of the whipped cream to the Round Tip piping bag.
On the top of the santa base, pipe on two circular layers of whipped cream using the star tip. (You want this to be a stacked layer so there is room for the eyes and nose later)
Gently place the hat on top of the Santa face then use the star tip to pipe a fluffy pom pom on the very top tip of the santa hat.
After that, use the round tip to pipe on two buttons for Santa’s coat.
Finally, add the mini chocolate chips for the eyes and the round sprinkles for the red button nose!

Equipment

Piping Tip – Wilton 190 Open Star
Piping Tip – Wilton # 2 Round Tip
Stand or Handheld Mixer
Piping Bags or Sandwich baggies
Scissors

Storage

Wrap these plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The whipped cream is stabilized so will hold up well when sitting out but you want to keep them as cold as possible until serving them. I wouldn’t recommend making them more than a day in advance because strawberries tend to sweat and get mushy once they are cut but if you do make them ahead of time, I would wait to put on the chocolate eyes and sprinkle nose before serving if possible.

Strawberry Santa being held in front of a Christmas tree platter

Frequently Asked Questions About The Recipe:

Do I need to make my own whipped cream or can I just use something pre-made?

You can use premade Cool Whip if you are in a pinch but it won’t have the cream cheese flavor or be AS stabilized as homemade but it will work. Just make sure not to use canned whipped cream because it will melt quickly.

How do I put the eyes and nose on when they are SO small?

I would use tweezers if you are having a hard time placing the chocolate chips and sprinkles – they are tiny so tweezers will help a ton!

I don’t have piping tips, how do I make that part?

You can still use sandwich baggies and just cut a small piece off the ends of both bags…one slightly smaller than the other. The look will be a bit different but still very cute!

Top Tips!

If you can, choose medium sized strawberries with a good shape for a hat. You want the berries to have a pointy tip if possible.

I recommend assembling these on the platter you intend to serve them on. These little guys are hard to move once they have been made because they are a bit delicate. You can just wrap the platter/plate/board in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge until you serve them.