These merry little Christmas deviled eggs are so cute, so festive and incredibly tasty! All you need are a few pink peppercorns and a few parsley leaves to make these jolly appetizers.
Merry Little Christmas Deviled Eggs
My Christmas decorating weekend has arrived! It’s officially December, so it’s time to start listening entirely to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies on a loop, making Christmas ornaments and tasty Christmas cocktails for friends and family (but especially, myself).
I’m starting with merry little Christmas deviled eggs for my evening snack… but before you start to panic, don’t worry. I did not garnish my deviled egg with a poisonous berry! They’re simply pink peppercorns (which are really red).
Pink peppercorns look like tiny holly berries, so they’re a perfect garnish for any yuletide appetizer. And they’re actually pretty tasty whole, unlike black peppercorns, so your guests need not pluck them off.
Ingredient Notes
spicy brown mustard – If you’re not a fan of spicy mustard, feel free to use yellow deli mustard or Dijon.
sour cream – I love the tanginess of sour cream in deviled eggs, but feel free to use only mayonnaise if you like.
eggs – Use nice large ones, and be sure that your eggs aren’t too fresh. I find fresh eggs are very tricky to peel. I’ve had the best luck with eggs that are around 2-3 weeks before the expiration date.
pink peppercorns – Do NOT substitute with real holly berries which are poisonous.
How to Make Merry Little Christmas Deviled Eggs – Step by Step
1. Add 6 large eggs to a pot of cool water, then place them on the stove and boil them over MEDIUM heat for 20 minutes (that’s 20 minutes from when you turn the heat on to turning it off). Once boiled, place them in a bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes.
2. Once the eggs are cool, remove the shells by carefully tapping around the center and peeling. Crack and peel very carefully so the egg is pristine and free of tears and dents.
3. Slice the eggs. I slice through the center-middle, as opposed to longways. I find the egg-halves have a more sturdy base when cut this way. Carefully remove the yolks and place them in a mesh strainer over a mixing bowl.
4. Push the yolks through the mesh strainer. This will break up the yolks and ensure that your filling is perfectly smooth when you mix in your other ingredients.
5. In a mixing bowl, mix egg yolks, 1 tbsp. mayonnaise, 1½ tsp. spicy brown mustard, 1 tsp. sour cream and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. You want the texture of your filling to be like creamy hummus, so if it appears on the dry side, give it a taste, and see if it could use a little more mayo or mustard to make it more creamy.
6. Slice a tiny bit off the bottom of the whites so your deviled eggs sit perfectly flat. This will prevent them from sliding around the plate.
7. Use a pastry piping bag to fill your pretty egg halves. They look so much more elegant this way.
8. Garnish with a few peppercorns and parsley.
A Few Tips
1. Make sure not to fill your eggs until a half hour, to an hour before you serve them.
The filling tends to dry out and starts looking quite un-appetizing after an hour, even if they’re in the fridge.
2. Pretty please, use a pastry piping bag to fill your eggs.
It makes SUCH a difference! It doesn’t matter how tasty your deviled eggs are, if the filling is scooped in with a spoon, they won’t taste nearly as nice as when they look professionally piped.
3. Don’t use more than 4 pink peppercorns.
Again, they’re not unappetizing whole, in fact, they’re just a little spicy, but a big bunch of them is a little overwhelming. Less is more. I use 2-4.
4. If you can’t find pink peppercorns, use red bell pepper instead.
If you can’t find pink peppercorns, you can also simply use red bell pepper. Simply cut one side off of a red bell pepper, and use a straw to punch little “berries” out of it. Garnish your deviled eggs with 3 or 4 little circles and a parsley leaf for the same effect!
Common Questions
1. Where can I find pink peppercorns?
They can be a little tricky to find in regular food stores, so I found my pink peppercorns on Amazon. You can also find them in specialty spice stores.
2. How far in advance can these deviled eggs be made?
You can make them a whole DAY in advance! Once you cut your eggs and mix your filling, you can simply store it in a pastry-piping bag with the ends sealed with a rubber band, or in a plastic baggie overnight (again, I highly suggest a pastry-piping bag because it makes your eggs SO much prettier).
Wash and dry your egg halves, and keep them in a container with a lid. Make sure not to fill your eggs until about an hour, or less, before serving.
3. Can they be made without mayo?
Yes! Just use only sour cream, instead of both sour cream and mayo. They’ll have a bit more zing than if you combined the mayo and sour cream, but not too much of a zing to be any less delicious.
A Little More Holiday Appetizer Inspiration
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Merry Little Christmas Deviled Eggs
Equipment
- 1½ quart pot to boil 6 eggs
- sharp knife and cutting board
- mesh strainer
- mixing bowl
- pastry piping bag and tip
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tsp. spicy brown mustard
- 1 tsp. sour cream
- 24 pink peppercorns – or red bell pepper punched with a straw into "berries"
- 12 tiny parsley leaves
- salt and fresh ground pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Add 6 large eggs to a pot of cool water, just covering the eggs, then place them on the stove and boil them for 20 minutes over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. After 20 minutes, place them in a bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes.
- Once the eggs are cool, remove the shells by carefully tapping around the center and peeling. Crack and peel very carefully so the egg is pristine and free of tears and dents.
- Slice the eggs in half. Carefully remove the yolks and place them in a mesh strainer above a bowl. Push them through the strainer with a spoon. This will break up the yolks and ensure that your filling is perfectly smooth when you mix in your other ingredients.
- In a mixing bowl, mix egg yolks, 1 tbsp. mayonnaise, 1½ tsp. spicy brown mustard, 1 tsp. sour cream and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. You want the texture of your filling to be like creamy hummus, so if it appears on the dry side, give it a taste, and see if it could use a little more mayo or mustard to make it more creamy.
- Use a pastry piping bag to fill the egg halves. Garnish with 2-3 pink peppercorns and 1 parsley leaf, each.
Notes
Nutrition
Kathy
I’m using pomegranate seeds in place of peppercorns. They’re perfect!
Dee
I made these for a party and what a hit they were! From slicing the egg opposite to the norm, to the beautiful “holly” decor these were fantastic! Thank you for the idea!