Santy Claus Grinch Treats

The Grinch thought it marvelous that he could disguise himself so easily with a quick Santy Claus hat and coat. There’s no great Grinchy trick at work here—these treats are both delicious and good for you!

What you’ll need:

  • a bunch of large green grapes
  • fresh strawberries and/or fresh raspberries
  • bananas
  • apples
  • 2 tablespoons of cream cheese
  • 4-6 tablespoons confectioners sugar
  • juice from half a small lemon
  • toothpicks or small skewers
  • an icing bag or a non-pleated closable plastic sandwich bag
  • Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Directions:

There are a couple of options for transforming the Grinch—a green grape—into Santa Claus:

  • Fruit kabob: Wash the grapes and strawberries and dry thoroughly. Cut the tops off strawberries and slice a banana. (Squeeze some lemon juice on banana slices to prevent browning.) Load a toothpick or skewer with a grape. Top it with a banana slice and then a strawberry. Now your green grape Grinch has a lovely banana-trimmed red strawberry Santa Claus hat!
  • Hors d’oeuvres: Wash an apple, grapes and raspberries and dry thoroughly. Cut the apple in half and place the halves flat side down on a plate. While the other fruit is draining, mix up the cream cheese, confectioners sugar and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Blend until smooth and fairly thick. Put the icing in an icing bag with a small tip or cut a small corner from a plastic sandwich bag.

Put a grape on a toothpick and add a raspberry so it fits closely over the top of the grape. Use your icing bag to pipe white trim around the bottom of the raspberry and add a small dollop on the very top of the berry for the hat’s pompom. To let the icing dry (and for serving a lot of these appetizers at one time), push the bottom end of the toothpick into an apple half.

Either or both options are fun in the kitchen for kids and the perfect snack to munch while listening to you read aloud How the Grinch Stole Christmas!