Gimbels’ Santa Cheeseburgers
with Caramelized Onion, Garlic Mayo & Cheesy Potato Snowballs
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Milk
- Soy
Unlike the mall Santa at Gimbels, this classic combo of beef and cheese is the real deal. Enjoy juicy cheeseburgers on pillowy potato buns with garlic mayo and topped with balsamic caramelized onion. On the side are cheesy mashed potatoes you’ll roll into “snowballs,” coat in toasted panko breadcrumbs, then stack into potato snow-people. Who says you can’t play with your food? Not us!
Ingredients
12 ounce
Potatoes
1 unit
Red Onion
1 clove
Garlic
½ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs)
5 teaspoon
Balsamic Vinegar
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Monterey Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Ground Beef
2 unit
Potato Buns
(Contains: Wheat, Eggs, Milk, Soy)
1 unit
Ketchup
3 ounce
Carrot
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
4 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
1 teaspoon
Sugar
2 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Peel and dice potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Place in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 10-12 minutes. Reserve ½ cup potato cooking liquid, then drain.
• Meanwhile, peel and mince or grate garlic. Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. • Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add panko and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Wipe out pan.
• In a second small bowl, combine mayonnaise with a pinch of garlic (taste and add more if desired). Season with salt and pepper. • Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for panko over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and softened, 5-7 minutes. (TIP: If onion begins to brown too quickly, add a splash of water.) Stir in vinegar and 1 tsp sugar (2 tsp for 4 servings); cook until onion is caramelized and jammy, 1-2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat; transfer to a plate. Wash out pan. TIP: Cover plate with foil to keep warm.
• Return potatoes to pot; mash with sour cream and 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) until smooth and creamy, adding splashes of reserved potato cooking liquid as needed. Stir in half the Monterey Jack; taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Form beef* into two patties (four patties for 4 servings), each slightly wider than a burger bun. Season all over with salt and pepper. • Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for onion over medium-high heat. Add patties; cook to desired doneness, 3-5 minutes per side. In the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, top each patty with remaining Monterey Jack; cover pan to melt cheese.
• While burgers cook, measure out two TBSP-size portions, two ¼-cup portions, and two 1⁄3-cup portions of mashed potato mixture. Form into balls using your hands, then roll in toasted panko to coat. TIP: The potato mixture will still be warm, so wear food-safe gloves for less mess! • (We sent a carrot for decorating—peel and cut it into different shapes to use as eyes, arms, and buttons, and transform your snowballs into snow people!)
• Halve and toast buns until golden. • Spread cut sides of buns with ketchup and as much garlic mayo as you like. Fill with patties and as much caramelized onion as you like. • Divide burgers and potato snowballs between plates; stack snowballs to create snow people. Serve.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the juicy, flavorful burger with caramelized onions and garlic mayo, though some found it a bit greasy.
- Ease of prep: Assembling the potato snowmen was challenging and time-consuming for most, with mixed results on appearance.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more seasoning to the potatoes and cooking onions longer for better texture and flavor.
- Portions: Some felt there were too many potatoes compared to the burger; others wanted more panko for coating.
- Fun factor: Despite difficulties, many enjoyed the festive concept and had fun making it with family 🎉.
Reviews from our home cooks
The burger needed more seasoning. Old bay maybe. I added mozzarella cheese also. (Please increase the size of burger/bun). Let's talk potato snowballs. Great idea but it failed. Next time try adding more panko (double) and double the cheese added and add butter...THEN bake it for a nice formed crust. I'd even consider cooking it in oil. If I get this again that's exactly what I'll do. That would be a 4 star. You are so close to perfect.
Star of this dish was definitely the balsamic caramelized onions! They have a nice sweet yet tangy flavor that pairs very well with the other savory components of the burger and the mashed potatoes.
My family loved this one! The potato snowmen were a hit and I love the name of the burgers. "You're not Santa! You smell like beef and cheese!" 🤣
The potato snowballs have changed my life, I'm going to try making them on my own and deep fry them. The burgers were fire as well, super garlicky
Super cute and fun. With the burger- I loved the onions and mayo mix, but I felt the meat needed more flavor and the bun was stiff. The snowman- super cute idea and I loved the panko flakes! I did feel like the potatoes needed more flavor though.
These were amazing! Super juicy and great mayo and caramelized onions. Would not use ketchup, they're perfect without it! Snowmen were super cute. Would try again!
We absolutely LOVED the burger part of this dish! YUM!!! So juicy and delicious. We especially loved the onions! The mash potatoes could have used a little pep- some kind of spice? But we really liked how you offered a "Holiday themed' meal :)
This dish was awesome!!!! My hubby made potato patties out of the cheesy potatoes and added it to the burger, it was amazing!!!!
The hamburger was great - fast to cook, tasty. I got a huge onion; I kept some of the cooked portion to use for eggs for another meal. The mashed potato snowman - great idea, and that is what got me to try this one. But so so hard! I would just make regular mashed potatoes and use the panko as a topper next time.
Tip with the snowballs: make the potatoes on the dryer side so its easier to roll in the panko. Also put them in a low temp oven to keep warm while the burgers cook
