Description
These Easy Reindeer Cupcakes are a festive and fun holiday treat made from your favorite cupcake recipe, decorated with candy melt antlers and colorful icing to resemble adorable reindeer faces. Perfect for holiday parties, family gatherings, or as a playful dessert to get everyone in the seasonal spirit.
Ingredients
Cupcake Base
- Your favorite cupcake batter recipe (enough for one standard 12-cup muffin pan)
- Festive cupcake liners
Decorations
- Candy melts chocolate (enough to melt for antlers)
- Wilton red icing
- Wilton brown icing
- Wilton black decorator icing
- Eyeball sprinkles (optional for added eyes)
Tools
- Cupcake baking pan
- Cooling rack
- Cookie scoop
- Disposable decorating bags
- Wilton #4 decorating tips (2 pieces)
- Wilton #10 decorating tips (2 pieces)
- Parchment paper
Instructions
- Prepare Cupcakes: Once your cupcake batter is ready and the oven is preheating, line a cupcake pan with festive liners. Using a cookie scoop, evenly fill each cavity with batter to ensure uniform cupcake sizes. Bake according to your recipe’s instructions, generally at 350°F (175°C) for about 17 minutes.
- Create Antlers: While the cupcakes bake, melt candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl on 30% power in 30-second increments until fully melted. Snip the tip off a disposable decorating bag, insert a Wilton #4 decorating tip, and fill it with the melted chocolate. On a piece of parchment paper, carefully pipe ‘Y’-shaped antler designs. Make extra antlers to account for any breakage. Let them harden completely.
- Cool Cupcakes: When the cupcakes come out of the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 15-20 minutes completely before decorating.
- Prepare Icing Bags: Fit two disposable decorating bags with Wilton #10 tips; fill one with red icing and the other with brown icing. Also, prepare a third bag fitted with a Wilton #4 tip and fill it with black icing for the eyes.
- Decorate Cupcakes: Holding the brown icing bag vertically, pipe a swirl starting from the outer edge and spiral inward to the center to create the reindeer’s face. Gently place two hardened chocolate antlers on each cupcake. Using the black icing, pipe two small dots for eyes. Finish by adding a red icing dot for the reindeer’s nose.
Notes
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure all cupcakes are the same size and bake evenly.
- Make extra chocolate antlers to avoid running out or dealing with broken pieces.
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely before decorating to prevent icing from melting.
- If eyeball sprinkles are used, add them before piping the black icing eyes for extra cuteness.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for longer freshness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
