Seasonal & Holiday Cupcake Recipes
Valentines Day Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tbsp. milk
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and lightly flour your cupcake pans. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 2. Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix the buttermilk, vanilla extract and butter mixture into the dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time, scraping the bowl frequently. To create the heart shape, place a small marble or a 1/2-inch ball of aluminum foil between each liner and one side of the tin (a great job for kids). This will push the paper into the batter to form the notch in the heart. Pour into the prepared pans and bake according to the times listed below, but check for doneness a few minutes early or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool, then remove the marbles or foil balls.
Frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Makes 4 cups. For Chocolate Frosting, substitute 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cocoa powder for an equal amount of confectioners’ sugar. For, Lemon Frosting , substitute 1 teaspoon lemon extract for the vanilla extract and add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon. For Cream Cheese Frosting , substitute 4 ounces of cream cheese for 1/2 cup of butter and use lemon juice instead of milk. Beat in an additional 1 1/2 to 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and omit the light corn syrup. For Strawberry Or Raspberry Frosting , add 1/4 cup seedless strawberry or raspberry jam to the basic frosting recipe. Add an additional 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar and omit the light corn syrup.
Christmas-y Cupcakes
I use the mini cupcake papers and just fill them with my favorite brownie batter. Before the brownies are cooked completely, while they are still a little wet on top, I pull them out of the oven and sprinkle with red and green sprinkles or with red and green mini M&M candies. For adults, they are nice bite-sized treats. For kids, they are good for a few bites (just the right size for younger kids) and since they are not frosted, they are not messy. These are also good to make for birthdays — just use multi-colored sprinkles instead of red and green.
Cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) White icing Large marshmallows Waxed paper Pretzel sticks Decorators’ gel Orange slice candy Junior Mints Thin Mints Fruit leather 1. Frost a cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with white icing. 2. Flatten a large marshmallow on waxed paper with the palm of your hand. Cut a second marshmallow in half horizontally, then stack the halves on the first marshmallow to form a torso and head. 3. Push a thin pretzel stick down through the snowman (this will help him stand up), then set him on the cupcake. 4. Use decorators’ gel to create a mouth, eyes, and buttons, then add pretzel stick arms and a wedge cut from an orange slice candy for a nose. 5. Accessorize with a candy hat (a Junior Mint secured to a Thin Mint with icing) and a fruit leather scarf.
Halloween Cupcakes
Ghostly Cupcakes!
Ingredients:
24 baked cupcakes
24 Nutter-Butter cookies
Chocolate frosting
Vanilla frosting
Tube of chocolate decorator’s icing
Coat each baked cupcake with chocolate frosting and partially insert a Nutter-Butter cookie into the top. Frost the remaining cookie with vanilla frosting. Draw a spooky expression on each ghost with the decorator’s icing.
