Olive Penguins

I made these Olive Penguins as a surprise for my girls Penguin themed birthday party. It was a fun surprise for everyone! They were almost too cute to eat. Plan ahead as these take a little bit of time to assemble, but it just needs 3 ingredients and a few mini drink umbrellas to add the final touch. They are best served the same day they are made.
Olive Penguins

Ingredients for our Olive Penguins

  • Medium Black Olives (drained)
  • Cream Cheese
  • Baby Carrots

Materials

  • Decorative tooth picks with the frilly cellophane top or Drink Umbrellas. We found the Tropical Paper Drink Umbrellas at Walmart.
  • Cutting board to cut the carrot pieces and use as a work surface to assemble the penguins.
  • Small knife
  • 1/8th teaspoon to scoop the cream cheese in a round shape.
  • Kitchen shears

Steps

  • Drain olives in colander and place on paper towel.
  • Select firm even shaped olives.
  • Wash hands with soap and dry as gloves aren't an option to working with such delicate pieces.
  • Using small knife or kitchen shears, cut up the center of an olive.
  • Use 1/8 teaspoon and scoop a rounded amount of cream cheese, carefully remove from the spoon and shape with fingers if needed.
  • Gently spread the olive with the cut and insert cream cheese, gently squeeze the olive around the cream cheese.
  • Slice the end of a baby carrot to make a flat surface. Cut a 1/8 inch slice.
  • Cut a small triangle in the carrot, to form the beak. The remaining piece of carrot will create the feet.
  • Take your second olive and insert the beak into the back end of the olive. If it gets pushed in too far, use the toothpick to push it back out.
  • Take your toothpick and poke it through the center of the "head" of the olive penguin.
  • Place the "body" on the carrot feet.
  • Poke the toothpick through the body into the carrot feet to secure.
  • Use rainbow toothpicks or the frilly toothpicks for variation.
  • Arrange on a platter and refrigerate until use. These are best consumed the day they are made.
  • See our video tutorial to see how we made them.

Tips and Suggestions

  • Keep cream cheese chilled until ready to use.
  • Have a paper towel handy to wipe hands.
  • Using your finger and a small piece of paper towel, gently wipe off excess cream cheese.

Penguin Party Ideas

    We will be building our page on a Penguin themed birthday party soon! We will be featuring games like Guess How Many Fish, Ball Toss, simple crafts like making a Penguin scene and party activities like "decorate your own cupcake". We picked blue, black and white as the theme colors and an Oreo cake.
Penguin Party Ideas