These cute little Christmas tree cupcakes are the perfect special treat for the holidays! They’re very easy to make, but still look adorable, and the kids go crazy for them!
So…I don’t really do cutesy food. Just not my thing. I’ll always say yes when some group is having a party and needs volunteers to bring food. I love to bake, but I’m not the one bringing adorable little treats.
I bring cookies.
Tasty, yes. But cute? Not so much.
I make an exception to this when it comes to my kids birthdays though. Because cake decorating is kinda fun, so I always make my kids a fun birthday cake. I figure cute food 3 times a year for a celebration is something I can handle.
Last summer my youngest turned 7. We were having his birthday party outside at a park. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, suggesting soccer, or hockey, or superheroes, or anything that most 7 year old boys would ask for…..and he said forest. Because his party was going to be at a park and there are trees there.
Do you know what you find when you search on Pinterest for “forest cupcake” ideas? Black forest cake, that’s what. There’s no such thing as forest birthday cakes.
So I decided I would make cupcakes with green “grass” for icing, and some quick and easy “trees” out of pretzels and candy melts. Turns out his idea was actually quite cute. (I included a photo of them, in case you have a child that wants forest cupcakes too!)
As Christmas tree cupcakes? Even cuter.
These Christmas tree cupcakes are so easy to make, and are a super fun treat if you want to make some cutesy food this Christmas!
Tasty chocolate cupcakes, vanilla buttercream frosting, coconut “snow”, and Christmas tree toppers made from pretzels and green candy melts.
So easy and the kids loved them!
How to make Christmas Tree Cupcakes:
- This cupcake recipe can be easily doubled or halved if you need a different number of cupcakes. As written it makes 24.
- You can also easily adjust the number of Christmas trees you make if you don’t want to make enough for 3 on each cupcake. If you are making 72 trees though, you will want to work in batches, and only melt 1/4 to 1/3 of the candy melts at once as it will start to set up a bit as you’re working if it cools off too much and you’ll have to re-melt it. There’s a photo below the recipe that shows a step by step for making the Christmas trees – as you can see, it’s pretty simple!
- If you can’t find green candy melts, you can also do this with white candy melts and green candy colouring (make sure it’s candy colouring, not dye for frosting, they’re different). This way you can also make your trees different shades of green, which is what I did on the birthday “forest” cupcakes.
- Sweetened or unsweetened coconut will be just fine for the “snow”, so use your preference.
- This recipe makes chocolate cupcakes – obviously you can make whatever kind of cupcake you like and add the cute little Christmas trees to them!
Here are some more great Christmas treats for you:
- Peppermint Brownie Truffles
- Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark
- Whipped Shortbread
- Sugar Cookies
- Easy Caramel Corn
Christmas Tree Cupcakes
These cute little Christmas tree cupcakes are the perfect special treat for the holidays! They're very easy to make, but still look adorable, and the kids go crazy for them!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Dutch process
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Cake Flour
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 cup Warm Water
- 1/2 cup Canola Oil
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 4 tablespoons Heavy Cream
For the Christmas Trees:
- 72 Small Pretzel Sticks
- 2-2 1/2 cups Green Candy Melts
- 1-2 cups Shredded Coconut
- Sprinkles, for "ornaments"
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, water, oil and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer, or stand mixer, until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Christmas Trees:
- Place the candy melts in a bowl and melt them in the microwave at 50% power for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until completely melted.
- Place a ziplock bag or a piping bag in a cup to hold it and fill the bag with the melted candy.
- Seal the ziplock and cut a small hole in the corner of the bag.
- On a sheet of wax paper, pipe lines of candy, about 2/3 the length of a pretzel stick and press the pretzel into the candy. Then pipe lines back and forth across the pretzel to make a tree shape.
- Top with sprinkles for ornaments.
- Repeat for the remaining trees and then let the candy set completely before carefully removing the trees from the wax paper and placing them on the cupcakes. It takes 1-2 hours for the candy to set completely.
For the Frosting:
- With an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until it is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar and heavy cream and beat for a full 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy. Add a little more sugar if it’s too runny or a little more cream if it’s too thick.
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, decorate them by spreading a layer of frosting on top with a knife.
- Sprinkle the frosting with shredded coconut, or dip the cupcake into the coconut to cover it, and carefully place three Christmas trees on top of each cupcake.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 1gSugar: 44gProtein: 2g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
I’ve also shared this Christmas Tree Cupcakes recipe over on Food Fanatic.