The most fabulous and impressive Christmas cupcake recipes, with everything from snowflake cupcakes to pecan pie and sugar plum fairy cupcakes!

Make your Christmas merry and bright with these fabulous cupcakes that will turn heads and earn applause!

A group of images of Christmas cupcake recipes such as peppermint mocha chocolate cupcakes, Christmas tree cupcakes and gingerbread cupcakes.

Christmas is around the corner and your “to-do” list is growing faster than weeds after a summer rain. I get it. Holidays are always a chaotic time. You are planning the perfect Christmas appetizers and you need all the Pinterest recipes for it to make it a memorable holiday meal.

You do not have to go all out with baking for your dessert. Keeping with the holiday festivities, you can easily make cupcakes. Cupcakes are the perfect choice for your guests since they are filled with flavor, and people can take them home after the meal. It’s a win-win situation! Kids also LOVE a fun hand held treat.

I’m not talking about the regular ol’ from a box cupcakes. I’m talking about impressive Christmas desserts that will really WOW your friends and family with plenty of sweet and festive sprinkles and decorations. Think snowman cupcakes, wreath cupcakes, reindeer cupcakes, red velvet, eggnog cupcakes, Christmas light cupcakes or hot chocolate cupcakes with marshmallows. You can even put the cupcakes together to make a cupcake wreath!

I put together this top-notch list of 20 impressive Christmas cupcake recipes for you to start with. These recipes really took my breath away and I know they will be a major treat for your holiday dinner. Some of them are more elaborate than others, and some are almost too gorgeous to eat. However after a long day of entertaining, and after all your planning, devouring a beautiful cupcake could really be the icing on the cake… cupcake that is! If you’re looking for more winter dessert inspiration, take a look at my lists of 20 Christmas Candy Recipes, 30 Christmas Cookie Recipes and 20 Candy Cane Recipes.

What is your go-to dessert for a holiday? For me, it’s classic Christmas cookies, these cupcakes or my elegant eggnog cake. Do you mind sharing it with me in the comments below? I absolutely love to read about your traditions. Have a great holiday!

20 Christmas Cupcake Recipes

A group of Christmas cupcake recipes including favorites such as snowman cupcakes, Christmas wreath cupcakes and eggnog cupcakes.
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cupcakes

These amazing treats are chocolate cupcakes topped with salty chocolate pretzel frosting, chocolate ganache and a chocolate dipped pretzel topper.

31 mins

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A picture of a Christmas tree cupcake.

Easy Christmas Tree Cupcakes

These easy Christmas tree cupcakes are made with pretzels, sprinkles and melted green chocolate.

31 mins

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An overhead image of a Christmas wreath cupcake.

Christmas Wreath Cupcakes

These Christmas wreath cupcakes are festive holiday cupcakes with piped buttercream wreaths in three different designs.

31 mins

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A picture of several Christmas light cupcakes.

Christmas Light Cupcakes

These Christmas light cupcakes are made with an embellished chocolate cake mix are fun, adorable, kid-friendly and perfect for bake sales.

31 mins

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An image of a gingerbread cupcake with a star shaped gingerbread cookie on top.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These gingerbread cupcakes are topped with cream cheese frosting and maple candied cranberries!

31 mins

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An image of some snowman cupcakes on a table.

Easy to Make Snowman Cupcakes

Grab the kids and whip up a batch of these Easy to Make Snowman Cupcakes made with sprinkles, chocolate chips and orange candies.

31 mins

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A picture of some Christmas tree cupcakes.

Super Easy Christmas Tree Cupcakes

These Christmas tree cupcakes are easier than they look and are such a fun and festive dessert for holiday parties!

31 mins

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An image of an eggnog cupcake with the wrapper open.

Super Soft and Fluffy Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream

Your favorite festive drink is reborn as a moist cupcake in this easy recipe. These eggnog cupcakes are a true Christmas delight – both the cupcakes and the frosting are filled with eggnog flavor!

31 mins

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A picture of a grinch cupcake on a red background.

Grinch Cupcakes

These delightful cupcakes feature green Grinch fur frosting on a fun green cupcake. Perfect for kids and fans of the Grinch.

31 mins

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Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

’Tis the season to wrap yourself up in a blanket next to the fireplace with one of these rich and fluffy hot chocolate cupcakes in hand.

31 mins

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A group of images of festive holiday treats like snowflake cupcakes, North Pole cupcakes and reindeer cupcakes.
An image of a pecan pie flavored cupcake on a plate.

Pecan Pie Cupcakes

The perfect holiday cupcake, moist butter pecan cupcakes are topped with fluffy brown sugar cream cheese frosting and loaded with toasted pecans!

31 mins

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An image of some North Pole cupcakes on a plate.

North Pole Cupcakes

These North Pole cupcakes are simple and easy Christmas cupcakes that are so festive! A candy cane serves as the pole!

31 mins

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A picture of a peppermint cookie dough cupcake.

Peppermint Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These peppermint cookie dough cupcakes are a peppermint flavored cupcake filled with a peppermint cookie dough and a vanilla swirled frosting.

31 mins

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An image of a peppermint mocha chocolate cupcake.

Peppermint Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes

These are supremely moist and decadent chocolate cupcakes topped with peppermint mocha frosting, a drizzle of chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes.

31 mins

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A picture of a peppermint cupcake.

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Peppermint bark flecked chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of crushed candy canes.

31 mins

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Christmas Reindeer Cupcakes

These Christmas reindeer cupcakes are moist chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade hot fudge and topped with chocolate fudge frosting.

31 mins

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Snowflake Cupcakes

Snowflake Cupcakes

Here are chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting made extra special with some royal icing snowflakes.

31 mins

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An image of a sparkling cranberry white chocolate cupcake.

Sparkling Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes

These are vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate ganache filling and cranberry buttercream frosting.

31 mins

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An image of snow globe cupcakes on a table.

Snow Globe Cupcakes

These gorgeous snow globe cupcakes are topped with edible gelatin bubbles. That’s right- you can eat both the cupcakes and the globe!

31 mins

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An image of a sugar plum fairy cupcake with purple frosting.

Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes

Fluffy almond cupcakes are filled with delicious plum preserves and topped with a tall swirl of purple buttercream. Lavender sanding sugar makes them sparkle and gives them a crunchy bite.

31 mins

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Wreath Christmas Cupcakes

These wreath Christmas cupcakes start with prepared vanilla cupcakes and vanilla frosting. You can make your own cakes from scratch, or stop by the local bakery to grab some ready make treats. The fun is with the decorations. Arrange green M&M’s, red ball sprinkles and red licorice on top of the cupcakes for a beautiful and festive dessert.

Wreath Christmas cupcakes are vanilla cakes topped with candy to make a festive dessert.
5 from 35 votes

Christmas Wreath Cupcakes

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AuthorSara Welch
Wreath Christmas cupcakes are vanilla cakes topped with candy to make a festive dessert.
These easy yet elegant Christmas Wreath cupcakes are the perfect addition to any holiday party!
Time
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 minute
Total Time31 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Serves 12

Ingredients 

  • 12 cupcakes frosted in white icing homemade or store bought
  • 3 11 ounce bags holiday M&M’s red candies removed and reserved for a different use
  • 1 bottle red ball sprinkles
  • 6 red licorice strings

Instructions 

  • Cut each licorice string in half and twist into a bow shape. Trim the ends and set aside.
  • Press the green M&M’s into two circular rows around the rim of each cupcake to form a wreath shape. Make sure the M imprints are on the back side of each candy!
  • Carefully sprinkle the red ball sprinkles into the gaps in the M&M wreaths. You may need to use a tooth pick to nudge them into place.
  • Place a licorice bow onto each cupcake, then serve. Cupcakes keep for up to 2 days covered in the refrigerator.

Notes

  1. You can use homemade or store bought cupcakes, as long as they’re frosted white! Make sure the frosting is still tacky when you add the M&M’s so that they will stick to the cupcakes.
  2. I used Twizzlers Pull and Peel licorice for the bows.

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @dinneratthezoo on Instagram and hashtag it #dinneratthezoo

Put some extra merry in your Christmas with these cupcakes that will impress your guests! They are as fun to look at as they are to eat!

Originally Posted November 7, 2023

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  2. These are all fantastic ideas for Christmas! I already wrote down several from this list to make this year. The snow globe cupcake will be the first one we try. Thank you!

    Reply