Have you ever been sitting in front of your fireplace, in your Christmas stockings and Santa robe sipping on a hot cup of cocoa, and thought to yourself, “Hey, what food do elves eat?”. I know what you might be thinking, how did that sentence escalate so fast. But no, really!
We know that Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus live in the North Pole with an army of small elves that help them make Christmas happen, right? Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, I assume, eat what we normal humans eat. But that can’t be true for elves. They are, in fact, magical tiny creatures and need some kind of different diet, different in size at least.
The common conjecture is that elves love sugary sweets. But I feel there must be more to it. I mean, they can’t only survive on sugary goodies. Don’t they need some protein or any kind of drink that’d keep them warm in the harsh winters at the North Pole?
This was all very confusing, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I hitchhiked with Santa to the North Pole and asked the head Elf cook, Mr. Elfis Presley, what he made for all the elves. Of course, he didn’t give me the secret menu (because it has magic concoctions made with unicorn hair and pixie dust), but he did share some delicious recipes that the humans and elves both love. Here are some of the food that elves eat.
1. Christmas Wreath Cookies
Elves love Christmas, and for good reasons. All year-round, they work hard to make sure everything goes smoothly. So, it’s a given that they love all things Christmas-themed. Christmas wreath cookies are something the elves enjoy a lot.
These are no-bake cookies and are made with delicious melted marshmallows and butter. Into this marshmallow fluff, add some spices, green color, and cornflakes. Give it a good mix and shape them like wreaths. This is it. Oh! Don’t forget to top them with exactly three red cinnamon candies for the full wreath experience.
2. Christmas Wreath Cupcakes
Another great Christmas-themed dessert, Christmas wreath cupcakes, are delicious mini cakes dressed in amazing vanilla buttercream. I mean, the food portion is important when we are talking about elves. From what I’ve heard, elves love cupcakes.
So, for making Christmas cupcakes, make the chocolate cupcake from scratch. It is fresh and tastes better for obvious reasons. Make the buttercream with generous amounts of vanilla (*this is an insider tip*). Then, add a tinge of green to the cream and pipe beautiful designs on top of the cupcakes. You can make a giant wreath by combining many cupcakes, or you can just make a whole wreath on top of a single cupcake. It’s your choice, and both look beautiful. If you are a tad bit confused about the recipe, here is everything you have to know! Thank me later.
3. Holiday Fruit Salad With Marshmallows
Elves need to stay healthy too. They can’t keep eating desserts all the time. But elves being elves, won’t chomp on green leaves either. So, the head Elf cook came up with a solution and made a delicious sweet and tangy salad. In his words, “They love it!”
The salad is made by combining fruits like oranges, grapes, cherries, and pineapple. The dressing for this salad is simply sour cream. You can also use red and green colored grapes as well as cherries. This makes the salad very vibrant and beautiful. The marshmallows are added just to attract them, so they actually eat the salad. It’s not just a welcoming distraction, and it adds flavor as well. Don’t worry; I have the recipe for holiday fruit salad with marshmallows right here, just for you.
4. Chocolate Santa Cookies
No! These are not Santa-shaped cookies, although you might think so because of the name. The cookies are actually Mrs. Claus’s recipe, so she named them chocolate Santa cookies, you know, in honor of her husband.
The cookies are simple chocolate cookies with a subtle twist. These are thumbprint cookies topped with swirly white chocolate, toffee bits, and halved bright red maraschino cherries. The recipe is simple but has quite a charm to it. One bite and you can’t help but say, “oh so sweet”.
5. Sausage And Stuffing Balls
Elves need their fair share of protein, no matter how tiny it is. A good way to make them eat protein is to combine the meat with bread, which they love, by the way. So, here I present to you, sausage and stuffing balls.
The balls are made with caramelized onions, sausage meat, herbs, and breadcrumbs. Combine everything and make balls of the mixture. Then, bake it in the oven until it is golden and perfect. Take out these golden snitches and serve them with your favorite sauce. From what I’ve heard, elves love to eat the stuffing balls with cranberry sauce; maybe try that.
6. Mini Gingerbread Houses
Another Christmas recipe that elves adore is gingerbread. The sweet and spicy bread just gets them happy and jittery. This is all passed down information. So, naturally, elves love mini gingerbread houses, so much so that they make their own when they have some time to spare.
Also, to elves, mini gingerbread houses are just gingerbread houses (*’cuz they tiny*). The gingerbread is made with flour, brown sugar, golden syrup, mixed spice, and ginger. You have to cut the walls and roof of the house before baking. Then, glue the pieces together using icing. If you love tinkering, you’ll enjoy assembling these tiny houses. You can decorate the houses with whatever you like. My suggestions for decorations would besprinkle, mini candy canes, peppermint candy, M&M’s, and cinnamon candy.
7. Wassail
Elves don’t usually drink because of the workload and stress. But after Christmas is over, they have a night to themselves. On the Twelfth night of Christmas, Elves like to drink wassail as well. They sing, dance, and drink, hoping for a good year ahead.
If you are wondering what wassail is, it’s a cider drink with juices and spices served hot. The drink is made by mixing apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and lemon juice. For spices, you have cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Just reduce it for some time and it’s ready. I have the recipe for wassail without alcohol, as I wanted to be considerate to underage elves. You can add some alcohol if you want and enjoy your wassail punch.
8. Apple Pie Cookies
Another elf-loved dessert is apple pie cookies. Simple, unique, and scrumptious, these pie cookies are magic too. Some people call them apple hand pies. These mini pies are not only fun to eat but also fun to make.
Make a simple and flaky crust that has the goodness of both pie and cookie dough. Cut small rounds from the dough using a cookie-cutter, one for the base and one for the top. Make the apple filling with small diced apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter. Fill the cookie rounds with this filling, seal them, and bake. That’s it. Relish in the pure goodness of these pie cookies.
9. Kir Royale
Every so often, there is a cause for celebration at the North Pole like a great holiday or just for appreciating everybody’s hard work. That’s when a beautiful celebratory drink comes in. Kir Royale is their go-to fruity cocktail. It is made from the finest champagne and French liqueur, which in this case is crème de cassis.
The blackcurrant liqueur makes the drink intensely sweet and vibrant pink in color. Forget your subtle rosè, and this is the new pink drink in town. Add a fresh raspberry to the drink and get lost in the trance of the bubbles rising up the flute. I have very graciously added the recipe here. You’re welcome.
Conclusion
So, this was a little sneak-peak at the treats our little magical elves love to eat. You can easily make these recipes at home and feel like a magical creature. If you ask me, good food is no less than magic. Do tell me in the comments which recipe you found to be the best. Also, if you are interested in the eating habits of any other magical creature, do mention that in the comments as well. Maybe I’ll try to research that too. So, will see you next time, it’s time for my hot chocolate and I don’t like being late for that. Goodbye!