Santa cupcakes are peppermint sprinkle cupcakes that are decorated to look like Santa Claus. These easy homemade cupcakes are sure to be a hit with adults and kids alike!
Santa cupcakes are festive peppermint sprinkle cupcakes that are decorated to look like Santa Claus. These easy, homemade cupcakes are a fun treat that will please adults and kids alike.
Give this recipe a try, and you may find a new Christmas Eve dessert tradition.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: I use salted butter in both the cupcakes and the frosting. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt by 1/4 teaspoon in the cupcakes and add a couple of pinches of salt to the frosting.
- Milk: Whole milk gives you softer, richer cupcakes. You can substitute buttermilk for the total amount of milk and sour cream.
- Peppermint extract: Be sure to use peppermint extract and not spearmint. Spearmint extract will give you cupcakes that taste like toothpaste or mouthwash.
- Vanilla extract: For whiter cupcakes, you can use clear vanilla flavoring.
How to make Santa cupcakes
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including instructions, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place cupcake liners in a 12-count cupcake tin. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, egg, yogurt, and peppermint extract.
Step 3: Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to the wet ingredients, and mix until combined.
Step 4: Fold in sprinkles.
Step 5: Fill each muffin liner â…” of the way full.
Step 6: Bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Step 8: Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, you can frost them.
Step 9: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint
extract with an electric hand mixer until well-combined.
Step 10: Separate the frosting into three bowls.
Step 11: Add 4 drops of red food coloring to one bowl, and stir in to combine. Add 1 drop of brown food coloring to the second bowl, stir in to combine. Leave the last bowl white.
Step 12: Transfer the white food frosting to a piping bag with a star tip. Set aside.
Step 13: Using an offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a thin layer of the brown frosting. Make sure the tops are smooth!
Step 14: Using an offset spatula, frost the top ⅓ of each cupcake with the red frosting to act as Santa’s hat.
Step 15: Using the white frosting, pipe little dollops on the bottom third of each cupcake to act as Santa’s beard.
Step 16: Pipe a thin line of white frosting over the bottom of Santa’s hat.
Step 17: Place one red M&M in the center of each cupcake for Santa’s nose and two brown M&Ms for Santa’s eyes.
Recipe Tips!
- Room temperature ingredients: You don’t want to use cold ingredients with the melted butter. Otherwise, you’ll end up with chunks of butter in your batter.
- Whiter frosting: If you want to get super white frosting, use a teeny tiny drop of purple food coloring in your frosting to change it from ivory to bright white.
- Boxed cake mix: You can use boxed cupcake mix if you prefer. If you use a cake mix, you’ll need to double the frosting portion as most cake mixes make 24 cupcakes.
- Store-bought frosting: You can substitute white store bought frosting for the homemade frosting if you prefer.
Storage
Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cupcakes will keep for 4-5 days when properly stored in the fridge.
More Christmas treat recipes!
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Santa Cupcakes
Equipment
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup salted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt or sour cream at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup Christmas colored sprinkles
Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter at room temperature
- 2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red food coloring
- Brown food coloring
- Red and brown mini M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place cupcake liners in a 12-count cupcake tin. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, egg, yogurt, and peppermint extract.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to the wet ingredients, and mix until combined.
- Fold in sprinkles.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins, filling each muffin liner about â…” of the way full.
- Bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, you can frost them.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract with an electric hand mixer until well-combined.
- Separate the frosting into three bowls. You'll need about 1/2 the frosting to be white, 1/4 will be tan, and 1/4 will be red.
- Add 4 drops of red food coloring to one bowl, and stir in to combine,
- Add 1 drop of brown food coloring to the second bowl, stir in to combine.
- Leave the last bowl white.
- Transfer the white food frosting to a piping bag with a star tip. Set aside.
- Using an offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a thin layer of the brown frosting. Make sure the tops are smooth!
- Using an offset spatula, frost the top ⅓ of each cupcake with the red frosting to act as Santa’s hat.
- Using the white frosting, pipe little dollops on the bottom third of each cupcake to act as Santa’s beard.
- Pipe a thin line of white frosting over the bottom of Santa’s hat.
- Place one red M&M in the center of each cupcake for Santa’s nose and two brown M&Ms for Santa’s eyes.
Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter in both the cupcakes and the frosting. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt by 1/4 teaspoon in the cupcakes and add a couple of pinches of salt to the frosting.
- Milk: Whole milk gives you softer, richer cupcakes. You can substitute buttermilk for the total amount of milk and sour cream.
- Peppermint extract: Be sure to use peppermint extract and not spearmint. Spearmint extract will give you cupcakes that taste like toothpaste or mouthwash.
- Vanilla extract: For whiter cupcakes, you can use clear vanilla flavoring.
- Nutrition values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
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