Time: 55 min.
Complexity: easily
Servings: 12

These cute cupcakes will brighten your holiday morning just by looking at them. With gummy candies, lollipops, jelly beans, and pretzels on hand, you can easily transform them into reindeer, hot chocolate cups, or snowmen. This recipe uses store-bought cupcake mix, but you can bake them using your favorite recipe if you prefer.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 1 pack (12 pcs.) cake mixes
• 0.5 tsp peppermint extract
• White cranberry juice

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

• 500 g (2 cups) cream glaze (see recipe)
• 4 cupcakes
• Royal icing for the filling, see recipe below
• Decoration: 4 blue candy canes

Snowman Cupcakes

• 250 g (1 cup) cream glaze (see recipe)
• 6 large marshmallows
• 4 small thin straws or toothpicks
• Small sugar dragees (confectionery sprinkles)
• Decoration: orange slice marmalade, cut into triangles for the nose

Cupcakes "Deer"

• 4 large yogurt-glazed pretzels
• 8 chocolate dragees in blue glaze
• Fruit Pastilles (recommended: Fruit by the Foot)
• 4 red gummy drops

Royal icing

• 2 large egg whites or 5 tbsp dry egg whites
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
• Food coloring, optional

Substituting ingredients
Measuring containers used

1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Recipes with similar ingredients

cake mix, mint extract, cranberry juice, cream, lollipop sticks, marmalade, marshmallow, dragee

We recommend

Preparation:

Step 1

• Mint Cupcakes:

  
  
  
  Bake cupcakes using store-bought mix according to package directions, adding 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the batter and substituting white cranberry juice for the liquid.
  
  

  "Cup of Hot Chocolate" Design:

Step 2
• 
  Place 4 baked cupcakes on a work surface. Fill a zip-lock bag with frosting. Snip a small corner of the bag and pipe frosting onto each cupcake to create a whipped cream-like finish.
Step 3
• 
  Poke a small hole in the side of each cupcake with a chopstick.
Step 4
• 
  Fill the hole with royal icing (see recipe below).
  
  
Step 5
• 
  Take 4 candy canes, break off the "U"-shaped pieces to create a handle for the cup, and crush the straight pieces into small pieces. Insert one end of the "U"-shaped candy cane piece into the hole and the other end into the frosting to create a cupcake. Sprinkle the crushed candy cane on top.
  
  

  Snowmen design:

Step 6
• 
  Using a butter knife or spatula, frost 4 baked cupcakes with a light layer of frosting to resemble snow.
Step 7
• 
  Flatten a large marshmallow on waxed paper with the palm of your hand. Cut a second marshmallow in half horizontally, then lay the first half flat on the first marshmallow to make the body, then turn the second half on its side to make the head. Glue on googly eyes and jelly beans buttons with royal icing. Add an orange slice for the nose. Push a straw or toothpick through the bottom of the snowman to secure it, and then push it into the top of the cupcake.
  
  

  Design "Deer":

Step 8
• 
  Pipe a thin layer of frosting onto the 4 remaining baked cupcakes. Use a butter knife or spatula to spread it out to create a rounded shape.
  
  
Step 9
• 
  Break pretzels in half and insert into the top of each cupcake to form horns.
Step 10
• 
  Use blue jelly beans to make eyes. Cut out a mouth from marshmallows, and place a red jelly bean in the center of the cupcake to make the nose.
  
  

  Royal icing

  
  Using a mixer, beat the egg whites with lemon juice or extract until foamy. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until smooth and glossy. Increase the speed and beat for about 5 minutes, until the icing is thick and glossy. Add food coloring if desired and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip.

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