I had a bunch of leftover cupcake batter from an order, so I made a batch of cupcakes and used them to test out the Christmas cupcake ideas that have been floating around in my head. I’m in a candy cane and mint vibe this year, so a lot of these designs lean into that – peppermint stripes, red and white swirls, and that classic mint-chocolate combo I can’t get enough of.
Since we’re already mid-December, these are designed to be quick, approachable, and all use the same color palette. Each design includes a quick how-to guide and supply list so you can jump right in.
Table of Contents
Snowman Cupcakes with Shredded Coconut
I had the most fun decorating these, it was probably because of the faces. These are simple to create despite all the elements. You literally need zero piping tips for this one – just cut holes in piping bags and you’re good to go.
What you need: White buttercream, shredded coconut, black buttercream (or round black sprinkles), small carrot pieces for the nose.
How to make them:
- Start by piping a dollop of white buttercream for the snowman’s head. Use a large round tip if you have one, or just cut the end off a piping bag – either works.
- Dip/roll your cupcakes in a bowl with shredded coconut. You can use this to shape the buttercream into a round dome. Gently pat the coconut onto the cupcake to ensure it is secure.
- For the facial features, use a toothpick to gently move the coconut and create space for the eyes and mouth.
- Pipe small dots for the eyes and mouth with black buttercream (or sprinkles if using that instead).
- For the nose, cut a small triangle shape from an actual carrot and press it into the buttercream. (I added a small amount of buttercream on the underside to help secure it better)
Flavor idea: These would be amazing on carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream (try my cream cheese buttercream recipe here)- the flavors work so well with shredded coconut, and with use of actual carrot pieces for the noses.
Candy Cane Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Mint and chocolate is my favorite flavor combo in the world, so these cupcakes make me ridiculously happy. The buttercream is piped in a swirl to look like whipped cream, and the combo of mini marshmallows, crushed candy canes, and chocolate drizzle just hits. For the buttercream, I added some milk to give it a softer “whipped” look.
What you need: Wilton 1M tip, vanilla buttercream, mini marshmallows, candy canes, melted chocolate or cocoa candy melts
How to make them:
- Pipe vanilla buttercream with a 1M tip – just do a classic swirl like you would for any frosted cupcake. The 1M tip gives you that whipped cream texture automatically.
- Drizzle melted chocolate or cocoa candy melts. I just put the chocolate in a piping bag.
- Quarter your mini marshmallows and scatter them on top.
- Add crushed candy cane pieces.
Extra touch: Save the curved part of a candy cane to use as a little “handle” on the side of the cupcake.
Peppermint Pinwheel Cupcakes
This design looks a little crazy, but ribbons are in my top 5 most satisfying ways to pipe buttercream, so any way I can use this technique – I will. The design itself is easy, you’re just piping ribbons in a pinwheel pattern, alternating red and white. The ribbon texture makes it look extra trippy. These were really fun and oddly therapeutic to make!
What you need: 2 Wilton 101 petal tips (or two piping bags with couplers if you only have one tip), red buttercream, white buttercream
How to make them:
- Flat ice your cupcakes.
- With a toothpick, map out your pinwheel pattern on the cupcake. I made a small paper pinwheel template and used it to lightly mark lines, but you can freehand this if you’re comfortable with it. Make roughly 6-8 sections radiating from the center.
- Start with your white buttercream. Hold your 101 tip just above the surface with the narrow end facing up. Starting from the center of the cupcake, pipe a ribbon by moving the tip side to side, filling the section as you pull toward the edge. Fill in every other section with white.
- Switch to red buttercream and repeat the same technique to fill in the remaining empty sections until your pinwheel is complete.
Flavor idea: add 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract to your buttercream.
Three-Tone Candy Cane Swirl Cupcakes
If there is one decorating technique that will never go out of style, it is multi-toned swirls. I wanted to use this technique to recreate those classic tricolor candy canes in buttercream form, and I’m so happy with how these turned out.
What you need: Wilton 2C tip (or similar large open star tip), red buttercream, green buttercream, white buttercream (you’ll need two portions of white), sprinkles (optional)
How to make them:
- Wrap each color separately in plastic wrap, rolling them into log shapes. You’ll want two white logs, one red, and one green.
- Load your piping bag in this order: white, green, white, red. This way the red and green don’t touch – they’re separated by white, just like a candy cane. Snip the bottoms of each wrapped log and place them into your piping bag with the snipped ends down.
- Twist the end of the piping bag and “whip” your bag in a circular motion to encourage the colors to go down towards the piping tip evenly.
- Pipe a classic tall swirl on your cupcake.
- Add sprinkles or crushed candy cane pieces if you want a little extra texture.
Cute Christmas Tree Cupcakes with Colorful Sprinkles
I’ve been wanting to use this Gingerbread Lane sprinkle medley I have, and I also wanted to make Christmas tree cupcakes – so why not put the two together? The idea probably came subconsciously from this little desk tree ornament I have. The theme is pretty similar – colorful bulbs, candy canes, little decorations – except my cupcake version is more gold and uses tiny gingerbread men instead of candies.
What you need: Wilton 103 tip, green buttercream for the tree, sprinkles, gold star sprinkles, pretzel sticks, white buttercream for the base
How to make them:
This uses the same technique I used for my Christmas tree cakesicles, just scaled for cupcakes. First, you need to create a flat base to pipe on.
- Pipe a dollop of white buttercream on top of your cupcake. Turn the cupcake upside down on a piece of parchment paper and press down lightly to flatten the top. Freeze for a few minutes – this gives you a smooth, flat base to pipe on.
- Once your base is set, pipe your Christmas tree using the 103 tip (follow steps in the above linked post). Start from the top and work your way down, creating layers of “branches” in a triangle shape.
- Use a small piece of a pretzel stick as the trunk of the tree.
- Decorate with sprinkles and add a gold star on top.
These five Christmas cupcake designs should keep you busy this holiday season! My favorites are definitely the snowmen and the hot chocolate cupcakes.
Want more Christmas decorating ideas? Check out my full Christmas cake and cupcake decorating archive here. And if you want to see these techniques in action, follow along on Youtube. I would love to see or hear about your Christmas cupcakes! Tag me @alchemy.sweets on Instagram or comment below.
Happy decorating!
