Cute Caprese Snowmen Appetizers – Without Whole Peppercorns!
I never know what’s going to make the Instagram algorithm happy. To my surprise, it was these Caprese holiday snowmen last week. My reel (backed by the Frozen song, Do You Want to Build a Snowman?) got three times more views than anything I’d posted previously.
I have seen similar Christmas appetizers on Pinterest but I was turned off by the peppercorn eyes and buttons. I don’t think biting into a whole peppercorn is an enjoyable experience, especially when you are trying to make small talk with a neighbor or co-worker at a holiday party. Plus, it seems like the minute you hold it up, the round peppercorns would roll away.
Eager to improve the Caprese snowmen to ensure that design AND deliciousness coincided, I decided to use pieces of black olive for the eyes and buttons. The flavor profile is a fit and they worked great, staying in place after I poked a hole with a bamboo skewer and inserted them.
Creating these individual appetizers is little bit fussy, but at this time of year, I turn on some holiday music and make cooking and baking into a fun event. These delectable snowmen each end up with their own personalities and look super cute lined up on a tray together.
What you need to make Caprese Snowmen Holiday Appetizers
Small Mozzarella Balls – There are multiple sizes of mozzarella balls and the right ones can be hard to find. I went to two stores before I found these, which are about 3/4 inches or a little over a centimeter wide.
Cherry Tomatoes – Find tomatoes that are similar size so that when you cut them in half, the “hat” fits on your snowman head.
Green and Black Olives – I used slices of green olive as the rim of the hat. Again, the diameter should be about the same as the mozzarella balls. Technically, Santa’s hat has a white rim, but I made an exception to include the briny olive flavor and a little extra color. The black olives are cut into little bits to create the eyes and buttons
Carrots – What’s a snowman without a carrot nose?! You will slice small triangles out of your carrots to create the mini noses.
Fresh Basil – the basil leaves become cozy, green scarves adding flavor and color.
Bamboo skewers – sometimes these are found in the meat department. I used small, 4 inch skewers.
Do you want to build a snowman? Come on, let’s go and play…
Print
Cute Caprese Snowmen – Fun Holiday Appetizer
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 appetizers 1x
Description
Fun little snowmen make festive holiday or Christmas party appetizers. You can make them earlier in the day and set them out at party time! Each has its own little personality.
Ingredients
- 36 small mozzarella balls
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 6 green olives
- 4 black olives
- 12 large basil leaves
- 1 carrot, cut small triangles for noses
- 12 bamboo skewers
- Pesto sauce for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare all your ingredients to make your Caprese snowmen skewers
- Cut tomatoes in half to make hats
- Cut green olives into slices. The center slices should be about the same width as the hat.
- Cut black olives into small pieces to be used for eyes and buttons.
- Cut carrots in slices and then cut again into small triangles to use as noses.
- Take bamboo skewer and start with a tomato half, follow with a green olive slice, and then a mozzarella ball.
- Fold the basil leaf at an angle and push it on the skewer so it looks like a scarf.
- Add two more mozzarella balls.
- Using a skewer, poke holes for eyes, nose, and buttons.
- Press the black olive pieces in for the eyes and buttons.
- Press the carrot piece in for the nose.
- Line up on a tray and serve with pesto for dipping.
Notes
You can make these and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a day before serving.
