Description
These adorable Snowman Cupcakes combine rich chocolate muffins with creamy buttercream frosting, decorated to look like cheerful snowmen. Perfect for winter parties or festive occasions, they feature moist cocoa-infused cupcakes topped with fluffy piped buttercream, marshmallow snowman heads, and charming pretzel arms for a delightful holiday treat.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Muffins
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
For the Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine salt
For the Decoration
- 12 large marshmallows
- 1½ tablespoons dark chocolate sprinkles (jimmies or vermicelli)
- 12 orange candy-coated chocolates or small candy corn pieces (noses)
- 24 mini pretzel sticks, halved (arms)
- 36 regular chocolate chips (buttons)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a 12-cup muffin pan with bright blue paper liners to prepare for baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, natural cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and fine salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: Using a mixer on medium speed, beat the softened unsalted butter with granulated sugar and light brown sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Incorporate the eggs one at a time into the butter-sugar mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then mix in the pure vanilla extract thoroughly.
- Combine Ingredients: Alternately add the dry ingredients and whole milk to the wet ingredients in three parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir gently until no flour streaks remain, taking care not to overmix.
- Bake: Evenly divide the batter among the lined muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make Buttercream: Beat softened butter until smooth. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, on low speed. Blend in vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and enough heavy cream or milk to achieve a thick but pipeable texture. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip for 1 minute to lighten the frosting.
- Pipe Snow Piles: Fit a piping bag with a large round tip and pipe two stacked concentric circles of buttercream on each cooled cupcake to create the appearance of snow piles.
- Create Snowman Heads: Press two dark chocolate nonpareils into each marshmallow to form eyes. Arrange five nonpareils in a curved shape for the mouth. Insert an orange candy-coated chocolate or small candy corn piece halfway into the center to act as the nose. Use tweezers or a toothpick to place these small decorations precisely.
- Assemble: Place the decorated marshmallow atop each buttercream snow pile. Insert two halved mini pretzel sticks at slight upward angles into the frosting to represent the snowman’s arms. Press three regular chocolate chips vertically down the front of the buttercream as buttons.
- Serve: Display the snowman cupcakes on a cool platter to keep the buttercream firm. Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 4 days; bring to room temperature before serving for best texture and flavor.
Notes
- If dark chocolate nonpareils are unavailable, you can pipe micro dots by melting 2 tablespoons of semisweet chocolate, transferring it into a piping bag fitted with a size-1 tip, piping tiny rounds onto parchment paper, chilling for 5 minutes, then using these as eyes and smiles.
- Using Dutch-process cocoa powder will yield a deeper color in your muffins. If you opt for Dutch-process cocoa, reduce the baking soda to ¼ teaspoon to balance the leavening.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 33g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
