Description
This delightful Snowman Cupcakes recipe combines rich cocoa muffins with creamy vanilla buttercream and charming snowman decorations made from marshmallows and candy. Perfect for winter celebrations and holiday parties, these cupcakes are both visually fun and deliciously moist with a festive twist.
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
- Preheat Oven: Heat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). 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 flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined uniformly.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: Using a mixer on medium speed, beat the softened butter with granulated and brown sugar until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Incorporate the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions for even mixing, then blend in the vanilla extract.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture in three batches, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir gently just until the mixture has no flour streaks.
- Bake Muffins: Evenly divide the batter among the lined muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make Buttercream: Beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time on low speed. Blend in vanilla, salt, and enough heavy cream or milk to achieve a thick but pipeable consistency. Whip on medium-high speed for 1 minute to create a light texture.
- 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 resemble piles of snow.
- Create Snowman Faces: Press two dark chocolate sprinkles (nonpareils) into each marshmallow for eyes. Arrange five sprinkles in a curved line below for the mouth. Insert one orange candy-coated chocolate or candy corn piece halfway into the center for the nose. Use tweezers or a toothpick for precise placement.
- Assemble Snowmen: Place the decorated marshmallow heads on top of the buttercream swirls. Insert two halved mini pretzel sticks at upward angles into the frosting to form arms. Press three regular chocolate chips vertically down the front as buttons.
- Serve and Store: Arrange 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 flavor and texture.
Notes
- If dark chocolate nonpareils are unavailable, melt 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate, pipe tiny dots onto parchment paper using a size-1 tip, chill for 5 minutes, and use these as eyes and smiles.
- For a richer color, use Dutch-process cocoa powder and reduce baking soda to ¼ teaspoon to balance acidity.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
