Vegan Christmas Appetizers: Funny Penguins

Do you want a meatless appetizer to warm up the holiday season? Try some animal-free, edible penguins. They make great holiday or Christmas vegan appetizers. They will add a touch of whimsy to your celebration, and people will absolutely take notice.

Vegan Christmas Appetizers: Funny Penguins

Vegan Christmas Appetizers: Funny Penguins

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Vegan Christmas Appetizers: Funny Penguins

Vegan Christmas Appetizers: Funny Penguins

I made these adorable penguin appetizers for a Christmas Eve Party last year, and they were a huge hit, both with the novelty/cuteness factor, and for the taste. Besides, I had fun making them, and they were vegan, so everyone could eat them. Kids love them, too, and this would be a fun way to spend time during the holidays with your kids, making some.

You will need:

1 carrot, preferable organic

1 can extra large pitted olives

1 can small pitted olives

Cream cheese or vegan cream cheese mixture, about 1/4-1/2 cup

Optional: about 2 TBS chopped nuts, added to cream-cheese-like mixture

toothpicks

I don't recall exactly which vegan cream-cheese-like recipe I used, but there are lots online. Most call for some nuts, tofu, salt, sugar, lemon juice, and possibly other flavorings, like garlic, blended together in a blender or Food processor. Anything fAirly white and savory will do, but it needs to be a stiff consistency, so it will stay stuffed in the olives and hold its shape.

To Make the Penguins:

For each penguin, you'll need

1 extra large olive

1 small olive

1 toothpick

1 slice carrot

1 tsp cream cheese mixture (approximately)

To make the penguin body, cut a narrow wedge out of one large olive, from top to bottom.

Fill the remaining olive piece with the cream cheese mixture.

To make the head, fill one small olive with the vegan cream cheese mixture.

For the beak, cut a small triangular wedge from a slice of carrot. The remaining large piece will be feet.

Very carefully, cut a horizontal slit into the small stuffed olive, going only about halfway through it.

Insert the carrot triangle "beak." You may need to cut a larger slit, or make thinner carrot slices.

Insert the toothpick down through the olive "head," then the larger olive "body," and finally, through the carrot "feet."

Stand your penguin up and smile.

To keep them upright, I stuck the toothpicks into a foam take-out lunch box that I had washed to reuse. This isn't necessary, but it makes for a fun presentation. You could also use something like half a cabbage head instead of the foam.

You'll have your own little colony of adorable, edible penguins! These don't have to be limited to Christmas or winter holidays. They would be a great hit at a kids' Party too, but Watch out for the toothpicks.

These seem like a lot of trouble to make, but they aren't that time consuming or finicky at all. The fun I had making these vegan Christmas appetizers was worth it. Not only did they taste great, but they got a lot of attention and comMents, too.

Vegan Christmas Appetizers: Funny Penguins