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    Home » Holiday Treats and Recipes » minor holiday recipes » Earth Day

    Black Olive Owls

    Published: Sep 1, '14 · Modified: Oct 10, '17 · By: Beth · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Turn ordinary olives into Black Olive Owls using orange cheese slices and bits of carrots for Halloween or a Harry Potter party. Fun food for kids. I created these Black Olive Owls featuring California Ripe Olives for Clever Girls Collective.

    Black Olive Owls | HungryHappenings.com

     

    For years I've seen those cute penguins made out of black olives at parties and on-line, and felt it was finally time for me to try my hand at making an adorable olive animal. As I sat staring down into a can filled with California Ripe Olives, trying not to eat all of them before I made anything, it dawned on me that olives have a similar shape to owls and better yet many owls are covered in black feathers. I'm always happy when inspiration strikes without much effort.

    I love using black olives to make my food art. They really are an ideal kid friendly ingredient and there are always a few cans of them in my pantry. They are one of the few black foods, so I reach for them often.

    You can see how I used black olives to add texture and a pop of color into each of these savory dishes. I used them to make eyes and a nose on my Teddy Bear Taco Tart, really big eyes on my Cheese Slice Owl, eyes and hair on my Count Pizzala, tiny little eyes on my Mini Cheese Ball Chicks, and eyes, hair and even bolts on my Frankenstein's Monster Taco Dip.I figured turning them into owls would be easy.

    olive food art

     

    My first attempt at making olive owls wasn't a total success, but it was educational. While working I realized I could make the owl's horns (the feathers on the top of the head that look like ears, but are really neither horns nor ears,) by cutting slits in the olives and making the pointed piece of olive stand up straight. I also realized carrots made the perfect beaks and that cheese eyes and feet stuck really well using cream cheese as edible glue.

     

    Black Olive Owls | HungryHappenings.com

    So, I started over, making larger glowing eyes, better looking feet, and putting my olive owls on lollipop sticks, just because that's more fun, especially for kids.

    These would make a great after school snack for kids, could be used as a festive appetizer at a Halloween party, or would make a fun treat to bring camping. So many possibilities.

    Black Olive Owls

    Ingredients and Supplies:

    jumbo California Black Ripe Olives

    1 wooden skewer (a lollipop stick would work as well)

    cream cheese, softened

    disposable pastry bag

    paper straw or lollipop stick

    carrot

    American cheese slice

    yellow food coloring
    food use only paint brush
    small round cutter about ⅝ inches

    black food coloring

    Instructions:

    how to make olive owls | HungryHappenings.com

     

    Start by draining your black olives really well. Pat the outside and inside dry, or allow them to sit and dry for a while. I actually dried the inside using a clean cotton swab.

    My olives had an X cut into one end, so I used that to my advantage. I made the cut bigger on two sides, but instead of going at an angle I cut straight down forming a rectangle with a triangular top. Then I took the blunt end of a wooden skewer, pushed it up into the olive, and carefully lifted the cut pieces of olives up just enough so they looked like owl "horns" or "ears."

    Most olives will have slits, but if they don't just cut them yourself.

    cream cheese stuffed olives

    Then put some softened cream cheese into a pastry bag, snip off the tip, and pipe it into the olive, filling it about ⅔ full.

    how to make olive owls | hungryhappenings.com

    Then insert a paper straw or lollipop stick.

    how to make olive owls | hungryhappenings.com

     

    Cut the carrot into thin slices, then cut triangular beaks out of each slice. Cut a slit into the front of the olive and slide one beak into it.

     

    how to make olive owls | hungryhappenings.com

     

    If you want glowing eyes, paint some yellow food coloring over the American Cheese Slice and allow it to dry then cut out small circles. Draw on the pupils using a black food coloring marker.

    Cut the feet using a daisy plunger cutter. Then cut off three "petals" to form the feet.

     

    how to make black olive owls | hungryhappenings.com

    Use a bit of cream cheese to attach the eyes and feet to the black olives.

    Black Olive Owls | HungryHappenings.com

    It's best to attach the cheese just before serving. I made these and kept them in the refrigerator for several days and the black food coloring bled a bit onto the yellow food coloring. So, I don't recommend making the eyes or attaching them too early.

    Before you go, you are gonna want to check this out:


    California Ripe Olives is having a Back-to-School-Sweepstakes and they are giving away an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX. How cool is that? All you have to do to enter is Follow California Ripe Olives on Facebook, visit the custom tab, and enter once per day. Sweepstakes runs August 18 - September 12, 2014. Good luck.

     

    Items used to create this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)

     

    I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

    If you are looking for more festive Halloween food ideas, be sure to check out my Halloween category page. You'll find over 100 fun and festive recipes for the holiday.

    More Edible Crafts using Olives

    from Hungry Happenings


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    Mini Cheese Ball Warm Fuzzies

    olive food art

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    olive food art

    Teddy Bear Taco Tart

    olive edible crafts

    Cheese Slice Owl

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    Count Pizzala (vampire pizza)

    olive edible crafts

    Frankenstein's Monster Taco Dip


    olive edible crafts

    Chocolate Truffle Pops - "Olive You"

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth
    Beth
    Hi, I'm Beth Jackson Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth
    Latest posts by Beth (see all)
    • Snowman Popcorn Bucket - December 24, 2022
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    About Beth

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Brenda @ SweetSimpleStuff

      September 08, 2014 at 7:16 pm

      I'm in love with your owls! They are just too cute ... love how tiny they are and want to make a flock of them 🙂

      Reply
    2. Karen @ Sugartown Sweets

      September 05, 2014 at 8:35 pm

      Not an olive lover, but these are so stinkin' adorable, they make me wanna be! These are one of the cutest food crafts you've made! :o)

      Reply
      • beth

        September 05, 2014 at 8:45 pm

        Wow, thanks. That's so nice to hear =)

        Reply
    3. ami@naivecookcooks

      September 05, 2014 at 4:36 am

      This is so so creative!

      Reply
    4. Suzanne @ Flour Arrangements

      September 04, 2014 at 4:14 pm

      Cutest ever! My kids will flip over these.

      Reply
    5. Alexis Middleton

      September 04, 2014 at 3:55 am

      Adorable as always, Beth!

      Reply
    6. bethany dearden

      September 03, 2014 at 3:56 am

      These are simply adorable! And my toddler is just loving olives lately, so I know these would be a huge hit with him!

      Reply
    7. Jill @ KitchenFunWithMy3Sons.com

      September 03, 2014 at 12:36 am

      These are SO cute!!

      Reply
    8. Kat Jeter

      September 03, 2014 at 12:03 am

      OMG, these are soooo cute!

      Reply
    9. Jo and Sue

      September 02, 2014 at 8:08 pm

      Sooooooooooooooo cute! 🙂

      Reply
    10. Lisa@hooplapalooza

      September 02, 2014 at 2:46 pm

      Hooo Hooo is the BEST at making anything edible? YOU! :>D

      Reply
    11. The Partiologist

      September 02, 2014 at 2:29 pm

      My oh my, I do love these owls, who would have thought to put olives on a straw - they are adorable!

      Reply
    12. Susan @ Oh My! Creative

      September 02, 2014 at 1:27 pm

      So cute! Love them!

      Reply
    13. Sue

      September 02, 2014 at 6:19 am

      Oh my goodness, so adorable! They sound yummy too!

      Reply
    14. Maria

      September 02, 2014 at 12:36 am

      So adorable!

      Reply
    15. Lynn@Happier Than a Pig in Mud

      September 01, 2014 at 9:54 pm

      Absolutely adorable! Big smiles here:@)

      Reply
    16. Jessica Coleman

      September 01, 2014 at 8:44 pm

      What awesome owls an im sure their just as tasty too.

      Reply

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    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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