How To: Make A Black Olive Penguin

Black Olive Penguins have always been a classic appetizer recipe in my house. I thought everyone pretty much knew about them until I was tweeting a friend of mine a few months ago, and she had never heard of them before. I decided then that during this season, I would write a post about these fun little edible birds.

You only need five things to make these: A can of big black olives, A can of little black olives, some softened cream cheese, a carrot and toothpicks. I prefer to use toothpicks without the little frilly thingys on top, but these pictures came from The Nourishing Gourmet, and the author, Kimi Harris, likes the fancy toothpicks. It’s just a personal preference.

Here’s how you do it… First, cut your carrot like in the picture below. The big piece is for the penguin’s feet, and you can cut up the little piece to make the beak. Next, slice a side off of a big olive and stuff it with cream cheese. I always smooth it off real nice with a sharp knife to get that sleek tuxedo-like penguin look. Now take your cream cheese filled olive and put it on top of your carrot feet. Add a little olive on top for the head and fasten it all together with a toothpick. The beak is optional, but definitely a nice touch. Once you get the hang of the cream cheese part (which takes the most time), you can make 25 or 30 of these little guys in no time. You’ll have an army of deliciously cute penguins that will definitely start a conversation at your next party!