Christmas Cupcakes

You’ll have no shortage of inspiration for your Christmas cupcakes. The winter holiday evokes such a variety of images like Santa Claus coming down the chimney, reindeer on rooftops, or pretty presents under the tree.

Or how about frosty winter scenes with pale blues and glittery white icing? And who can forget snowmen with or without their top hats and warm scarves. Red and green are the typical colors of the season and are woven into a variety of holiday images like poinsettias, Christmas ornaments and bows. But, perhaps you’d like to try something more whimsical and use the same design elements, but in non-traditional colors like pink, blue or purple. Maybe you’ll try something fun like stringing some lights through your cupcake tiers. Let your imagination be your guide and you are certain to create some very special Christmas cupcakes.

Peppermint Candy Christmas Cupcake

Clever and easy, these peppermint candy Christmas cupcakes have a secret weapon: peppermint extract. The fondant decorations are easy to store since they’re flat and this design looks equally nice with vanilla or chocolate cupcakes.

Bakery/Cake Goods Needed:

• Your favorite batch of vanilla or chocolate cupcakes
• Your favorite butter cream frosting recipe
• 1 small batch of your favorite fondant recipe
  (since this fondant will be used to cover your cupcake, we recommend a homemade fondant rather than store bought)

Peppermint Decorating Supplies:

• Peppermint Extract
• Metal circle shaped cutter (we used the 2” circle cutter from Wilton’s Round Fondant Cut-outs)
• Red food color (we used Wilton’s paste food color)
• Small rolling pin
• Wax Paper
• Food-safe paint brush
• Small butter knife

Cupcake Icing Tools:

• Wilton #1M Star Tip
• Icing Bag

Finishing Touches:

• Red cupcake liners

Making the Peppermint:

Step 1: Divide fondant into two pieces. Color one half of the fondant red.

Step 2: With the small rolling pin, roll white fondant out on a flat surface. Cut out rounds with the 2” circle cutter. Set aside on wax paper.

Step 3: Roll out the red fondant on a flat surface. Cut out rounds with the 2” circle cutter. With the butter knife cut the round like a pizza into 8 pie-wedge sections.

Step 4: Dampen the back of each red pie-wedge shaped piece of fondant with water and a food-safe paint brush. Attach wedges to the white circle. You will need five (5) red wedges for each white round. Set aside.

Icing the Cupcakes:

Step 1: Mix 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract into the butter cream.

Step 2: Fill the icing bag with icing and fit the opening with the Wilton #1M star tip. Using a circular motion, squeeze out icing to cover the top of the cupcakes.

Step 3: Top the Christmas cupcakes with one of your peppermint fondant circles.

Christmas Lights Cupcakes

What would Christmas be without lights? If you haven’t had a chance to string them up around the house, you may as well have them grace your Christmas cupcakes even if you had to make them out of fondant.

Bakery/Cake Goods Needed:

• Your favorite batch of vanilla cupcakes
• Your favorite butter cream frosting recipe

Christmas Lights Decorating Supplies:

• 1 small batch of premade fondant
  (you can use store bought or homemade)
• Metal circle shaped cutter
  (we used the 1” circle cutter from Wilton’s Round Fondant Cut-outs)
• Food Coloring
  (we used Wilton’s paste food coloring in Royal Blue, Red-Red, Lemon Yellow, Violet, and Leaf Green)
• Small rolling pin
• Wax Paper
• Food-safe paint brush
• White Edible Glitter

Cupcake Icing Tools:

• Wilton 1M Star Tip
• Icing Bag

Finishing Touches:

• Red cupcake liners

Making the Christmas Lights:

Step 1: Break fondant into five different pieces. Make four pieces about the same size and the fifth piece a little bigger. Color each of the five pieces of fondant one of the following colors: red, blue, yellow, and purple (Violet). Color the last and largest piece of fondant green.

Step 2: Start with the red colored fondant and roll it out on a flat surface to a 1/2″ thickness with the small rolling pin. Cut out circles with the 1″ round cutter. Continue this step with the blue, yellow, and purple fondant. Keep fondant cut-outs in a plastic bag so they stay moist and don’t dry out.

Step 3: With each of the round cut-outs, roll into an elongated ball. With your fingers, taper the ends and round them slightly to form a gentle pear shape with a large rounded bottom and a tapered, rounded end. Slightly flatten the larger rounded bottom. Set aside on wax paper. Repeat this step with the rest of the colors.

Step 4: Roll the green fondant into a tube shape slightly under 1/2″ in width. Cut into 1/2″ long pieces. Attach these pieces to the bottoms of the pear shaped colored fondant pieces.

Step 5: Roll another segment of green fondant into a think cord (less than 1/8″ wide). Create loop and curly-Q segments with the fondant “rope.” Set aside on wax paper to dry and harden.

Icing and Decorating Christmas Cupcakes:

Step 1: Fill the icing bag with butter cream and fit the opening with the Wilton #1M Star metal tip.

Step 2: Starting from the outside edge of the cupcake, use a circular motion and squeeze the icing out to cover the cupcake.

Step 3: Sprinkle cupcakes with a bit of edible glitter. Carefully place two to three lights on top of each cupcake. Add the loops and curly-qs.

Mini Gingerbread Man Christmas Cupcakes

Bakery/Cake Goods Needed:

• Your favorite batch of vanilla cupcakes
• Your favorite butter cream frosting recipe
  (use real butter and real vanilla extract to give the frosting a nice ivory color)
• 1 cup Royal Icing

Mini Gingerbread Man Decorating Supplies:

• Pre-made batch of white fondant
  (we used Wilton’s Ready-To-Use Rolled Fondant)
• Metal Mini-Gingerbread Man Cutter
  (we used a small cookie cutter about 2 or 2-1/2″ tall)
• Brown Food Color or Cocoa Powder
• Small Rolling Pin
• Wax Paper
• Wilton # 2 Tip
• Coupler Ring
• Icing Bag

Cupcake Icing and Decorating Tools:

• Wilton 1M Star Tip
• Icing Bag
• Red and Green Candy Jimmies

Finishing Touches:

• Red and Green cupcake liners

Making the Mini Gingerbread Men:

Step 1: Tint the fondant brown using the brown food coloring or cocoa powder. Roll fondant out on a flat surface with the rolling pin.

Step 2: Cut out gingerbread men with the mini cutter. Set aside on wax paper to harden over night.

Step 3: Fit the opening of a grease-free pastry bag with a grease-free icing coupler and #2 Round Icing Tip. Fill bag with royal icing.

Step 4: Carefully pipe zig-zags near the hands and feet of the gingerbread man. Next, pipe two dots for eyes and a “C” for the mouth. Allow icing to dry and harden.

Icing and Decorating the Cupcakes:

Step 1: Fit the opening of a pastry bag with the #1M Star tip and fill bag with butter cream.

Step 2: Starting from the outside edge of the cupcake, use a circular motion and squeeze the icing out to cover the cupcake.

Step 3: Sprinkle the iced cupcakes with red and green candy jimmies.

Step 4: Carefully place a gingerbread man on the top of your cupcake.