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–+ servings
Close up of three olive penguins.
Course Appetizer

Olive Penguins

By: Elysia
Servings 12 penguin appetizers
This Olive Penguins Appetizer makes the perfect fun and healthy holiday finger food to serve! They're easy to make and fun for kids too!  Super cute and festive, they're guaranteed to be the talk of the party! {Gluten-free & vegetarian}
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 24 black olives pitted
  • 4 oz goat cheese (rolled into 1/4 inch balls)
  • 2-3 baby carrots (cut into twelve 1/4 inch slices)

Instructions

  • Cut the olive in half lengthways. Remove the pit if necessary. Each olive half will serve as the penguins' wings.
  • Get your goat cheese out and roll into balls about 1/2 inch in diameter.
  • Cut a slice of carrot about a 1/4 inch thick. Cut a little triangle out of the carrot slice (about 1/6th of the slice). These carrot slices will serve as the feet and the little triangle will be the beak of the penguin.
  • To assemble the penguin: Take the halved olive pieces and place one on each side of the the goat cheese ball, so that the white belly is exposed at the front. Next, poke the carrot beak into the front of the olive "head" and place on top of the goat cheese ball. Place the goat cheese ball with the olives wings and head on the centre of the carrot slice with the "feet" facing forwards. 
  • Place the olive penguins directly on the serving tray right after you've formed each penguin and store them in the fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

  • Use black olives without pits for best results. You can also sub in kalamata olives or olives with pits if that's what you have on hand, but you will have to remove the pit first.
  • You can poke a toothpick through the goat cheese ball, carrot slice and olive head to keep it all together, but I found that the goat cheese almost acted like a glue keeping it all in place.
  • Once you've made the penguin appetizer, don't meddle with the penguins too much or they might fall apart. I recommend putting them directly on the serving tray right after you've formed each penguin so that you don't have to move them around too much and store them in the fridge until ready to serve.
  • These penguins do take a little time to assemble, especially if you're making the whole batch, so I recommend getting a few people involved in the penguin making process if possible to make it go even quicker. (HINT: It's a perfect little project for the kids)!

Nutrition

Calories: 22kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 140mgPotassium: 10mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 410IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg
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