Snowman Cupcakes

Ⓒ Provided by Delish

By Riley Wofford, Delish

Baby, it’s cold outside! We can’t think of a better way to welcome the first snow of the season than with these adorable snowman cupcakes. Marshmallow snowmen sit atop sweet, frosted coconut cupcakes to create a dessert guaranteed to put you in a festive mood. In keeping with the snowy scene, shredded coconut flakes are used in two ways—incorporated into the batter for added sweetness and sprinkled on top of the buttercream frosting.

This recipe is super-simple, so it’s a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. An easy cake batter is paired with an equally simple buttercream frosting that gets swooped atop each cupcake. Everything is elegantly adorned with coconut “snow.”

When it comes to the decorations, we kept those simple as well. Tint some of the frosting with black and orange food coloring, then transfer the colorful frostings to separate piping or resealable bags. Snip a very small hole in the tip of each bag, then pipe two black button eyes and an orange carrot nose onto each marshmallow. These cupcakes wouldn’t be complete without giving each snowman some holiday party-ready accessories. Use some leftover buttercream to secure a mini peanut butter cup “hat" (widest-side facing down) to the top of each snowman. For a final pop of color, we like to craft various colors of fruit leather into long, thin strips and wrap them around the bases of the marshmallows. Have fun with it!

Yields: 12 serving(s) 

Prep Time: 30 mins 

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins

More Recipe: Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 c. (180 g.) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 c. (200 g.) granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1 c. (85 g.) sweetened shredded coconut

Frosting & Assembly

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 c. (225 g.) powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• Black and orange food coloring
• 12 marshmallows
• 2 c. (170 g.) sweetened shredded coconut
• Mini peanut butter cups or M&M’s and fruit leather (optional), for decorating

More Recipe: Snowman Cake Recipe

Directions

Cupcakes

Step 1
Arrange a rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.  

Step 2 

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Step 3
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat granulated sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat on medium speed until combined. Add half of dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add milk and beat to combine. Add remaining dry ingredients and coconut and beat until just incorporated. Divide batter among prepared muffin tins. 

Step 4
Bake cupcakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Frosting & Assembly

Step 1
In a large bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 

Step 2
Transfer 1 tablespoon frosting to a small bowl and tint with black food coloring. In another small bowl, tint 1 tablespoon frosting with orange food coloring. 

Step 3
Onto each marshmallow, pipe 2 dots black frosting to make eyes, then pipe a cone of orange frosting to make noses. Top each marshmallow with a dab of white frosting and top with a peanut butter cup, wide side facing down. 

Step 4
Using remaining frosting, frost cupcakes; top each with a marshmallow. Press coconut into white frosting. Cut fruit leather, if using, into thin strips and wrap around base of marshmallow to form a scarf.

More Recipe: Vanilla Peppermint Cupcake Recipe

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