Cream Cheese Igloo & Penguin Olives

The warm weather is coming soon, I can feel it! So I was running out of time to make my cream cheese igloo with olive penguins. We had another gathering for The Union a couple weeks ago and we bought bagels to serve with breakfast. Instead of putting out cream cheese the old-fashion way I was able to try out this creative idea that my mother spotted online. The original recipe is for a cheese ball igloo not just cream cheese. That would be perfect for any winter-time party. I was serving this for breakfast at church so I went with just plain cream cheese. Plus it was easier and I was short on time.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 packs of 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 to 8 large whole olives, rinsed
6 to 8 medium whole olives, rinsed
1 carrot
toothpicks


You will need excess cream cheese for the penguins, for the very top layer of the igloo, and also for the entrance-way of the igloo. So if you only use two packs of cream cheese then remember to save some of it for later (at least 1/2 a pack)


Press two packages of light cream cheese in bowl that is lined with plastic wrap. Push down firmly and flip bowl up side down. The cream cheese should come out in dome shape. Place on serving dish.


Take a small amount of the additional cream cheese and mix it in a small food processor to make it softer. Then you will be able to draw lines on the igloo to give it that ice-block effect. With a spatula spread the soft cheese over the top of the cream cheese igloo and use a toothpick to create the block design.


You will then need more cream cheese that was not mixed. Cut into rectangular blocks to that look brick-like. Stack these to create the entrance-way. (See picture). Clean away any extra cream cheese to make it look presentable.


Now it's on to the olive penguins. I could explain it, but really this website does an AMAZING job of spelling it out with great pictures and step by step instructions. This is what I used to make the olive penguins.


I've seen pictures of penguins with red peppers as santa hats or pimentos as scarves. Very cute. The first two penguins were hard to do. But once I got the technique they actually were really easy to make. Keeping them clean was the hardest part.


I made this late at night, kept it in the freezer over night and brought it to church early the next morning. It was a little firm so it might of been better to let it set out for a little while.


What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)