santa hat brownies

By KimberleyH

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 1 pan of your favorite brownies, cooled and cut into desired size and shape (I used a round cutter)
• 12-16 small strawberries, cleaned and hulled
• vanilla-mascarpone buttercream (recipe below)
• Mascarpone Buttercream
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Details

Adapted from daisysworld.net

Preparation

Step 1

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and mascarpone cheese until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt. Add 2-1/2 cups of sugar, half a cup at a time and continue beating until smooth. Add more sugar, if needed to reach desired consistency and sweetness.

To assemble, pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream on top of each brownie. Cut off the base of a strawberry so it is flat and place it upside down on each brownie, pushing slightly to secure in place. Top the tip of the strawberry with a dot of buttercream to finish the santa hat.