Name: Vanilla Bean Christmas Cupcakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: ½ cup vegetable oil; ¾ cup sugar; 2 large eggs ((room temp)); 1¼ cups flour ((we used a 1:1 GF flour)); ½ tsp salt; ½ cup oat milk ((or your choice of milk)); 1¾ tsp baking powder; 2 tsp vanilla bean paste; 1 stick butter ((we used dairy-free)); 3 cups powdered sugar; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 3-4 tbsp heavy cream ((we used dairy-free)); Green and Red Food Coloring; Assorted Festive Sprinkles

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This festive vanilla bean Christmas cupcake recipe has two fun designs for your holiday gatherings. The moist vanilla bean cupcakes and fluffy vanilla buttercream will make this recipe a holiday tradition for years to come.

How to Make Vanilla Bean Christmas Cupcakes

This Christmas cupcake recipe is more about festive designs and less about cupcakes. But with that in mind, these are still classic vanilla bean cupcake that is moist and full of flavor. The designs will wow everyone, and then it will be love at first bite. The recipe below will make 12 cupcakes:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs (room temp)
1 1/4 cups flour of choice (we used Josie’s Best Gluten-Free Mixes)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oat milk (other dairies or dairy-free milk are okay, too)
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Combine oil and eggs in a mixer and mix for 1 minute.
Slowly add all remaining ingredients and mix on medium for 1 minute until thoroughly combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Place cupcake liners into a muffin pan. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full with your batter.
Bake for 13-16 minutes.

Christmas Cupcake Recipe Designs

While the cupcakes bake, you can make the vanilla buttercream frosting. You’ll need a few ingredients, including;

1 stick of butter (your choice of butter. We used dairy-free)
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3-4 tbsp of heavy cream

To make the vanilla buttercream, you will do the following;

Cream butter and vanilla paste in a mixer until smooth.
Next, add sugar and cream, alternating 1 cup (sugar) and 1 tbsp (cream) simultaneously, blending slowly after each addition.
Once all is added, mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes.
Separate the frosting into two (2) separate parts and add green and red food coloring.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost them with the red frosting bag. You can use a piping bag with a circle tip or cut the end of the bag off. Then line a baking tray with wax paper. Gently press cupcakes with frosting side down, and freeze them for 15 minutes. When the cupcakes have been in the freezer, you can remove them and start decorating them with Christmas trees and wreaths.

How to Make a Wreath:

To make the wreath design on these Christmas cupcakes, you will want to put the green frosting in a piping bag and frost using a star-shaped tip. You can make star shapes in a circle around the cupcake to make a wreath and then add decorative sprinkles to add the final touch.

How to Make a Tree:

To make the trees, you will use a piping bag with a flat tip and start at the top creating lines across the top that slowly get wider and wider as you work towards the bottom of the cupcake to make a Christmas tree design as shown in the picture. Then you can use your choice of sprinkles to decorate the tree. You can use pretzel sticks to make the tree trunk.

We hope you love this Christmas cupcake recipe and want to see how it turns out. If you made these designs or one of your own, tag us on your Instagram creations.

This was made by Golden Grace Kitchen