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Easy DIY Snowman Cupcakes

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Either way you cut it, these Snowman Cupcakes are fun and easy to make. A fun activity for kids to!

side view of a vanilla cake decorated to look like a snowman

There is something about sitting on my couch with my Christmas tree lights on that just makes me take a deep breath and smile. Sometimes this time of year, we are so busy that we forget to take a step back and appreciate what’s around us. Whatever it is that makes you smile, take a minute and remember that. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress or drama that might come this time of year. Don’t worry, it will all be over in less than 2 weeks.

These Snowman Cupcakes makes me smile. When I was traveling in Colorado for Thanksgiving, we made a stop at our favorite Whole Foods, and I saw these snowman cupcakes in the display case. They were so cute, I knew I wanted to recreate them at home.

The best part about these cupcakes is that you can decorate them so many ways with whatever you have laying around in your pantry. Here is what I used: Pretzel sticks, Oreos, Mini chocolate chips and pumpkin morsel chips. I just happened to have some pumpkin morsels leftover from my fall baking and they were perfect for the nose!

front view of a snowman cupcake with more cupcakes in the background

For the frosting, I used a mix of butter and Crisco for the base. I do not normally use Crisco for my frosting unless I am using it to decorate. Why? Well because Crisco helps adds structure to a frosting. It only melts at high temperatures. What this means is that an all butter frosting tends to be less stiff and therefore it loses it shape much faster.

In order to add some air and fluffiness to this frosting, I used the whisk attachment for my stand mixer and I WHIPPED the heck out of that butter and Crisco…You must whip it. Turn down your mixer before you add the frosting or you will have a serious clean up on your hands.

I used an Ateco 808 tip. Hold your piping tip directly over your cupcake and squeeze the bag evenly to form the first larger snowball. You can even slightly bury the tip in the top of the frosting to help it expand. Gently lift up and pull away. Repeat for the next two layers!

To make the caps for the snowman, I took one side of an Oreo and piped some red frosting on top. You need about ½ cup of red frosting, which you can tint with food coloring. I also used this tinted frosting for the smiley face. I used a piping bag and cut off the tip, but you can use a Ziploc bag too!

a front to back lineup of snowman cupcakes with one at the front in focus

I suggest to pipe these cupcakes with the white frosting and then decorate them right before serving. The longer the pretzels and Oreo sit on these cupcakes, the weaker and softer they will become.

These cupcakes are a fun activity for kids too! Give them a variety of things to decorate with and see what they can create!

For the cupcakes:

1 batch vanilla cupcakes

1 batch decorator’s buttercream (recipe below)

Oreos

Pretzel sticks

Mini chocolate chips

Red food coloring

Orange candy for the nose

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Decorator’s Vanilla Frosting

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 C (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, cold.
  • 1/2 C Crisco
  • 5 C Powdered sugar
  • 2½ tsp Clear Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp Butter extract (optional)
  • 2 tbsp Heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  1. Cut butter into pieces, combine with Crisco. Using the whisk attachment, whip butter for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until butter looks light in color.
  2. Add 2 C powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated into butter mixture.
  3. Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and mix to combine.
  4. Add additional 2 C powdered sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes.
  5. Add last 1 C powdered sugar along with 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream, ½ tsp vanilla extract and butter extract. Beat on low until ingredients start to mix together. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 3-5 minutes to whip additional air into the frosting

 Don’t forget to check out my Stacked Snowman Cupcakes from last year!

Snowman cupcakes

Fun treats from my friends:

Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks from I Am Baker

Red Velvet Santa Hat Cookie Dough Truffles from Baking A Moment

Macaron Christmas Trees from Bakeaholic Mama

5 BAKE FROM SCRATCH SECRETS!
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