Christmas Snowman Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes.
• Set aside 1/4 cup frosting. Frost cupcakes with remaining frosting. Sprinkle frosting with sugar crystals. Stack 2 or 3 marshmallows on each cupcake, using 1/2 teaspoon frosting between marshmallows to attach.
• For arms, break pretzel sticks into pieces 1 1/2 inches long. Press 2 pieces into marshmallow on each cupcake. Cut 1-inch mitten shapes from fruit snack. Attach mittens to pretzels. For scarf, cut fruit snack into 6x1/4-inch piece; wrap and tie around base of top marshmallow. For hat, stack candies, using frosting to attach. For earmuff, use piece of string licorice and candies, using frosting to attach. For faces and buttons, attach desired candies with small amount of frosting. Store loosely covered.

Steps:

• Trim the dry top off 12 of the cupcakes and crumble the soft cake interiors into a bowl. Add about 5 ounces of vanilla icing and mix well. Add more frosting if needed to bring the mixture together into a ball so that it can be easily shaped. Cover bowl and chill cake mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• Frost remaining 12 cupcakes with a thin layer of white vanilla frosting.
• Remove cake mixture and roll with wet hands into 2 different sized balls for the snowmen's torsos and heads, 12 bigger balls and 12 smaller balls. Stick a small ball on top of a big ball to make the snowman, using some frosting if the balls are not very sticky. Place snowmen onto frosted cupcakes.
• Cut black licorice laces into small squares for the eyes and mouth using scissors and attach them with the tip of a knife to the head.
• Mix white fondant with orange food coloring to turn it orange and make little carrot noses out of the orange fondant. Press into the snowman faces.
• Attach 2 dark colored candy-coated milk chocolate pieces into the torso and cupcake as buttons. Attach 2 candy-coated milk chocolate pieces on either side of the head and connect them with a piece of black licorice for the earmuffs.
• Cut red licorice laces into 2 1/2-inch long pieces and wrap around the snowman's neck as a scarf.

Steps:

• Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard muffin tins with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour and beating until combined after each addition.
• Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins 10 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to wire racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored in airtight containers in freezer up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Buttercream: Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch. Remove from heat and transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form and mixture is cool to the touch, about 6 minutes. Whisk in vanilla.
• Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until smooth, about 3 minutes. Buttercream can be stored, covered, in refrigerator up to 5 days or in freezer up to 2 months. Before using, bring to room temperature (if frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator first) and beat on low speed until smooth.
• Assembly: Frost each cupcake with about 1/4 cup buttercream, smoothing tops with an offset spatula. Transfer remaining buttercream to a resealable plastic bag. Snip a very small hole in one corner of bag.
• Using kitchen shears, cut a 1/4-inch slice off the top of 24 marshmallows. Using your fingers, press down on each to condense and make slightly smaller in size. Pipe a small dot of buttercream on the tops of 24 whole marshmallows. Place a cut marshmallow on top of each to create heads. Pipe another small dot of buttercream on top of each head, then add mint candies to create hats (reserve remaining buttercream for another use). Repeat with remaining marshmallows.
• Using a wet toothpick, poke two parallel holes in each head and insert sprinkles to create eyes. Poke another hole below the eyes and insert a sunflower seed to create nose. Repeat with remaining snowmen. Top frosted cupcakes with snowmen. Decorated cupcakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 day.

Steps:

• Melt 2 chocolate coins in the microwave or in in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, until liquified.
• Dip each cylindrical/round chocolate into the melted chocolate and 'glue' to the coins of chocolate, to look like tophats.
• Sieve icing sugar and add to soft butter and hot water.
• Mix slowly for 2 minutes, then fast, until light and creamy.
• Spread buttercream over each cupcake, leaving a little over to 'glue' the hats on later.
• Place a marshmallow in the middle of each cupcake.
• Snap each chocolate stick in half and place into the cupcake for arms.
• Pipe on a green scarf around the marshmallow.
• Pipe on black eyes and red or orange nose and buttons (If it doesn't stick very well, slightly dampen the side of the marshmallow with a wet finger).
• "Glue" on the tophat with remaining buttercream.