Description
Celebrate the holidays with these delightful Easy Christmas Cupcakes, featuring a mix of vanilla and chocolate bases topped with festive buttercream designs including Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer, and Santa hats. Perfect for party treats, these cupcakes combine classic flavors with creative, colorful decorations using various piping techniques and sprinkles.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcakes
- 12 cupcakes (mix of vanilla and chocolate)
Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 cups (448g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4–6 tbsp (60-90ml) heavy cream or milk
- Salt, to taste
Tree Cupcakes Decorations
- Green gel icing color
- 1 piping bag
- Ateco 847 tip
- Star sprinkles
- Colorful nonpareil sprinkles
Melted Snowman Decorations
- Brown gel icing color
- Marshmallows
- Food writing pens (black and orange)
- 2 piping bags
- Ateco 808 tip
- Wilton 5 tip
- 1 coupler
- Large nonpareil sprinkles (for buttons)
Reindeer Cupcakes Decorations
- Brown gel icing color
- 4 oz melting chocolate
- 2 piping bags
- 1 coupler
- Wilton 5 tip
- Ateco 808 tip
- Eyeball sprinkles
- Large round red sprinkles (for nose)
Santa Hat Cupcakes Decorations
- Red gel icing color
- 2 piping bags
- 1 coupler
- Ateco 808 tip
- Wilton 21 tip
Instructions
- Make the buttercream: Add the butter to a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add half of the powdered sugar, mixing until combined and smooth. Stir in vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of cream. Add the remaining powdered sugar and continue mixing until fully combined and smooth. Adjust consistency by adding more cream as needed. Finally, add salt to taste starting with less than 1/8 teaspoon to balance the sweetness.
- Color the buttercream: Divide the buttercream into 4 bowls. Allocate extra frosting to two bowls for the green and red colors since these require more volume. Color two bowls with green and red gel icing, leave one white, and color the last brown. Remember the colors will darken slightly as the buttercream sits.
- Make Christmas tree cupcakes: Fit a large piping bag with Ateco 847 tip and fill with green buttercream. Pipe a large, tall swirl on each cupcake starting from the outer edge, moving inward in three full rotations, finishing with a small peak on top. Immediately add star and colorful nonpareil sprinkles to the fresh buttercream before it crusts for better adherence.
- Make snowman cupcakes: Use food writing pens to draw eyes, nose, and mouth on marshmallows beforehand. Fit a large piping bag with Ateco 808 tip and fill with white buttercream. Pipe a flower-like design with petals circling the cupcake’s edge, then smooth the top with an offset spatula. Attach the marshmallow snowman face near the back, add large nonpareil sprinkles as buttons vertically. Using a medium piping bag with Wilton 5 tip and coupler, fill with brown buttercream and pipe arms onto the cupcake.
- Make reindeer cupcakes: Melt 4 oz of chocolate and pipe antlers onto parchment paper using a piping bag with coupler and Wilton 5 tip. Let dry completely. Fill a large piping bag fitted with Ateco 808 tip with brown buttercream and pipe a short, flat swirl offset toward the front of the cupcake (to create the snout). Attach the red nose sprinkle where the piping ends, place eyeball sprinkles for eyes above, and affix the dried chocolate antlers at the top to complete the reindeer look.
- Make Santa hat cupcakes: Fill a large piping bag fitted with Ateco 808 tip with red buttercream. Pipe a tall swirl starting wide at the outside edge and spiraling inward for three rotations, finishing with a small peak. Leave space around the base for white trim. Fill a medium piping bag fitted with Wilton 21 tip with white buttercream and pipe dollops around the base of the red swirl. Pipe a fluffy white “ball” on the top of the swirl to complete the Santa hat.
- Serving and storage: Serve cupcakes at room temperature soon after decorating to prevent color bleeding. They can be kept at room temperature up to 24 hours or refrigerated for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Bring refrigerated cupcakes to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- The buttercream recipe yields about 5 cups, enough for 12 cupcakes with multiple designs. Adjust quantities accordingly if making fewer cupcakes or simpler designs.
- Use at least 4 oz of melting chocolate to pipe antlers for 12 reindeer cupcakes; lower amounts can make piping difficult.
- Food writing pens allow detailed facial features on marshmallows for the snowmen and can be prepared ahead of time.
- Work quickly when decorating with sprinkles as buttercream crusts and sprinkles lose adhesion over time.
- Store cupcakes in airtight containers and avoid prolonged exposure to humidity to maintain frosting texture and decoration integrity.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 60mg
