Do you want to amaze your guests with a fun dessert? Rudolph Cupcakes are the perfect Christmas dessert. Not only do they taste good, but they also LOOK amazing! These reindeer cupcakes are the way to feel super festive!
Who says that the holidays have to be boring? In fact, you can make them exciting! Learning how to make Reindeer cupcakes is something you can do on your own or with the whole family. They are also budget-friendly, so you don’t have to spend a bunch of money, making fun memories with your kids!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
There are many reasons you’ll love this recipe!
- You’re making it on your own. This means you don’t have to rely on the store to bake it for you!
- It’s a fun reindeer recipe. It’s so much fun when your cupcakes come out looking like your favorite Christmas character!
- Kid-Friendly. The kids can help you make these festive and fun cupcakes!
Ingredients
Use a clear shot of the ingredients for this recipe, prepped, and labeled if necessary. Insert the ingredients into the list below, omitting quantities.
- Devil’s food or chocolate cake mix
- large eggs, room temperature
- oil
- water
- sticks of butter, softened (but not melted!!!)
- Cocoa Powder
- chocolate pudding mix
- heavy cream heavy whipping cream
- Brown food coloring (optional)
- Large frosting bag with tip
- Standard cupcake liners
- Sugar reindeer decorating kit (option 1) OR 24 vanilla wafers, red M&Ms, and 24 sugar eye decorations and small pretzel twists (option 2).
See the recipe card below for quantities.
How to Make Rudolph Cupcakes
Instructions for the Cupcakes:
Line muffin tin with paper liners. Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat on high for one minute, or until the texture is smooth.
Step 2: Then, fill liners 2/3 full of the batter and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until they spring back when touched. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5-10 minutes before moving to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. While cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting.
Instructions for the Frosting:
Step 3: Place butter in a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat on high for 2 minutes, or until the texture is light and fluffy.
Step 4: Mix in the cocoa powder and chocolate pudding mix.
Step 5: Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, while alternating 1 tablespoon of the half and half. Continue to mix until creamy and stiff peaks form. If you want a darker frosting, mix in the brown food coloring, 1 drop at a time, and mix until the desired color is achieved.
Step 6: Add frosting to the piping bag. Frost your cupcakes. Save leftover frosting if using option 2 for the reindeer faces.
Instructions for the Reindeer Faces:
Step 7: If choosing option 1, arrange the sugar decorations to make the reindeer faces and serve.
Step 8: If choosing option 2, put a small dot of frosting on the logo side of each M&M. Place the M&M on a vanilla wafer, forming the snout and nose.
Step 9: Place each of the vanilla wafers on top of the cupcake, at the bottom edge.
Step 10: Place 2 pretzels twists at the top of each cupcake, forming the antlers.
Step 11: Put a small dot of frosting on each of the candy eyes and place two between the snout and the antlers on each cupcake and serve.
Substitutions
Here are some of my favorite ways to switch things up if you don’t have the right ingredients on hand.
- Homemade cake mix – if we’re being honest, you can make your own cake mix and use it in this recipe!
- Buy pre-made cupcakes – it’s possible for you to buy pre-made cupcakes and use them in this recipe!
It’s hard to find substitutions for this recipe because it’s pretty straightforward. However, you can always use a dairy-free or vegan option for any ingredient in this recipe.
Variations
Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? You can change things up how you’d like! Here are a few ideas.
- Use red frosting for the nose – if you want to be a little creative, then use red frosting for the nose! Just a pinch of frosting will do!
- Add a pink bow for a girl – if you’d like to make the reindeer a girl, then add a little pink bow onto the cupcake.
- Kid friendly – it’s always so much fun for kids to decorate cupcakes how they’d like. If you’re up for it, let the kids do a little decorating.
Check out these Santa Hat Cupcakes for even more holiday baking fun!
Equipment
- cupcake pan
- cupcake liners
- large mixing bowls
- mixer
- wire rack
- measuring cups and spoons
- piping bag
Storage
These Rudolph cupcakes will need to be cooled completely before being decorated and then put in the fridge for up to two days before serving.
If you don’t need to decorate the cupcake right away, then wait until you are ready to serve them to decorate them.
These cupcakes will freeze well BEFORE you decorate them.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
For the most part, when you store cupcakes in the fridge, they are more likely to dry out. Store the cupcake on the counter as long as you possibly can AFTER they are decorated.
Cupcakes will stay fresh for 2-3 days after you’ve baked them. Most cupcakes don’t last that long in anyways house.
You can make cupcakes up to two days ahead of time. Just frost before serving!
More Holiday Cupcake Recipes
Do you enjoy holiday recipes? Try these delicious recipes:
Reindeer Cupcakes
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Rudolph Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake Pan
- Cupcake Liners
- large mixing bowls
- mixer
- wire rack
- measuring cups and spoons
- piping bag
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s food cake mix or chocolate cake mix
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup oil
- ½ cup water
Chocolate Frosting
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder
- ½ cup chocolate pudding mix
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream heavy whipping cream
- 3 cups powdered sugar Note if you find that your frosting is too thin, you can add up to an additional cup of powdered sugar to get a firmer texture.
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Line muffin tin with paper liners. Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat on high for one minute, or until texture is smooth.
- Fill liners 2/3 full of the batter and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until they spring back when touched. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5-10 minutes before moving to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. While cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting.
Frosting
- Place butter in a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat on high for 2 minutes, or until texture is light and fluffy.
- Mix in the cocoa powder and chocolate pudding mix.
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, while alternating 1 tablespoon of the half and half. Continue to mix until creamy and stiff peaks form. If you want a darker frosting, mix in the brown food coloring, 1 drop at a time and mix until desired color is achieved.
- Add frosting to the piping bag. Frost your cupcakes. Save leftover frosting if using option 2 for the reindeer faces.
Decorating
- If choosing option 1, arrange the sugar decorations to make the reindeer faces and serve.
- If choosing option 2, put a small dot of frosting on the logo side of each M&M. Place the M&M on a vanilla wafer, forming the snout and nose.
- Place each of the vanilla wafers on top of the cupcake, at the bottom edge.
- Place 2 pretzels twists at the top of each cupcake, forming the antlers.
- Put a small dot of frosting on each of the candy eyes and place two between the snout and the antlers on each cupcake and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
In the ingredients list for the Rudolph Cupcakes, the powdered sugar is not listed. How much do you use?
Oh my! How did I leave that out? Thanks for catching my mistake. It’s 3 cups of powdered sugar. Though, you may need to add a little extra to make it firmer if needed.