Best Elf Santa Cupcakes Recipes

RED VELVET SANTA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups.
• In blender or food processor, place beets. Cover; blend on high speed about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth. Pour 1/2 cup beet mixture in large bowl (reserve remaining for another use). Add egg product, sugar, vanilla, oil and yogurt, stirring well to combine. Stir in flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread on cupcakes. Top each with 1 strawberry and an additional dot of frosting.

RED VELVET HOLIDAY ELF CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• In large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about two-thirds full).
• Bake and cool completely as directed on box for cupcakes.
• Frost cupcakes with frosting, reserving 1 tablespoon frosting. Place one apricot half on each side of cupcakes for ears. Cut each fruit snack into 4 triangles. Place 1 triangle on top of each cupcake, folding pointed end over to form hat. Attach 1 gumdrop half to pointed end of each hat using reserved frosting. Use remaining gumdrop halves for nose, and chocolate chips for eyes. Pipe mouth with red decorator frosting. Store loosely covered.

RED VELVET ELF CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In small bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, beat sugar, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in food color and vanilla. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk just until blended. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely. Set aside 1 tablespoon frosting; frost cupcakes with remaining frosting. Cut each orange gumdrop in half; shape into triangles. Place 2 pieces on each cupcake for ears. Cut each fruit snack into 4 triangles. Place 1 triangle on each cupcake for hat, folding pointed end over. With reserved frosting, attach 1 green gumdrop half to pointed end of hat. Use red gumdrops halves for nose and chocolate chips for eyes. Pipe red icing for mouth.

ELF HAT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cups in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, eggnog, oil and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
• Squeeze green cookie icing into bowl. Place sanding sugar on plate. Cover each ice cream cone with thin layer of cookie icing using frosting spatula. Roll cones in sanding sugar to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Place flat ribbon applicator tip on extruder of red cupcake icing. Pipe line of red icing around bottom edge (non-pointed end) of each cone.
• Cover each cupcake with small amount of fluffy white frosting. Dip frosted cupcakes in sanding sugar. Top each cupcake with 1 sugar cone.
• Cut each yellow fruit chew into 3 pieces; knead each until soft. Roll pieces into balls; gently press 1 ball onto tip of each sugar cone.
• Cut each pink fruit chew into 2 pieces; mold each into square. Cut each square diagonally into 2 triangles. Flatten each triangle slightly; place 1 on either side of hats to create "elf ears." Store cupcakes loosely covered.

SANTA PULL APART CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a small saucepan that can hold a heatproof bowl without touching the water. Whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites in the heatproof bowl. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk continuously until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue whisking on medium-high speed; the mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue whisking until the buttercream comes back together to form a smooth and spreadable consistency. Add the vanilla and whisk to combine.
• Color 3/4 cup of the buttercream with 2 drops of ivory or flesh tone food coloring to create a "skin tone" color. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Color 1 1/2 cups of the buttercream with 30 drops of red gel food coloring. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small French tip. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with 1 1/2 cups of the white buttercream. Transfer the remaining white buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a small French tip.
• To assemble Santa's head, arrange the cupcakes on a serving board as follows to make a diamond: one row of 2, one row of 3, one row of 4, two rows of 5, one row of 4, one row of 3 and the last row of 2.
• Pipe about 1/2 cup of the ivory buttercream onto the 3 middle cupcakes in row 5 and the 2 middle cupcakes in row 4 below it to create the face of Santa. Spread evenly using a small offset spatula.
• Pipe about 1 1/4 cups of the red buttercream in small rosettes covering the 8 cupcakes on the top half of Santa's head, leaving 1 cupcake unfrosted on the left side (for the white plush of Santa's hat). Leave 2 tablespoons the red buttercream for Santa's mouth.
• Pipe 5 large rosettes with the white buttercream with the large star tip to cover the row of 5 cupcakes under the red hat to form the brim. Pipe 1 large white rosette on the unfrosted cupcake to create the plush of Santa's hat.
• Pipe small rosettes with the white buttercream with the small French tip to create Santa's beard on the remaining cupcakes, piping closely to avoid any holes. Pipe a row of small white rosettes below the large rosettes to create Santa's hair. Make two curved lines from the middle of Santa's face to his beard to form his mustache and another two small curved lines above Santa's eyes to form his eyebrows.
• Place 2 chocolate buttons side by side for Santa's eyes.
• Pipe a dot with the ivory buttercream between and below the eyes for his nose. To finish, pipe 2 small curved lines between his mustache and beard with the red buttercream to create his mouth.

SANTA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes, filling paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; cool completely. , Tint 2/3 cup frosting red with food coloring. Place 3 tablespoons white frosting in a food-safe plastic bag; cut a 1/4-in. hole in one corner and reserve for piping., Use remaining white frosting to cover two-thirds of each cupcake. For hats, cover remaining third of each cupcake with red frosting. Pipe fur trim with white frosting; add marshmallows for pompoms. Decorate with M&M's, Red Hots and jimmies for faces; add coconut for beards.