Cute and Easy Snowman Cupcakes

If you're looking for a fun holiday baking project, make these cute and easy snowman cupcakes!

As the holiday season approaches, it's the time of year to cozy up with some delightful, snow-kissed treats. Treats that are not only a feast for your taste buds but also a feast for your eyes. Enter Snowman Cupcakes!

These fun treats bring a touch of whimsy to your dessert table. The cute Christmas cupcakes are festive and fun, alongside Reindeer Cupcakes, Snowflake Cookies, and a festive Gingerbread Cake Roll.

And they're perfect holiday treat for any winter gathering. From Christmas parties to cozy nights by the fire, these super cute snowman cupcakes are a big hit with all ages.

In this post, I'll show you how to whip up these cuties and spread a little frosty cheer!

❤️ Why you will love this recipe

These adorable snowman cupcakes are sure to become the talk of your next holiday party!

• Super cute - I mean, come on: who can resist these adorable snowmen cupcakes?
• Family fun - This easy recipe is so much fun to make with the whole family! Even the youngest kids can help decorate the snowmen marshmallows or add sprinkles to the buttercream frosting.
• Simple ingredients - You don't need any fancy ingredients or specialty equipment to make these cute cupcakes.
• Delicious - With a classic vanilla cupcake batter and vanilla buttercream frosting, these holiday cupcakes are a joy to eat as they are to look at!

🛒 Ingredient notes

For the cupcakes:

• Flour - Use all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with other flours, but if you do, please do leave a comment below and let us know how they turned out!
• Cornstarch - I love adding cornstarch to cupcakes and cakes because it helps keep them moist and soft.
• Baking powder - We use baking powder as our leavening agent.
• Salt - Use kosher salt to balance the sweetness of the cupcakes.
• Butter - Make sure your butter is softened at room temperature before using. Simply take the butter out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start gathering the other ingredients.
• Sugar - Use granulated sugar.
• Eggs - Take the eggs out of the fridge at the same time you take out the butter. They should be at room temperature when you mix them in.
• Milk - Use any milk here - whole, 2%, 1%, or even almond milk.
• Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.

For the frosting:

• Butter - Make sure your unsalted butter is at room temperature.
• Powdered sugar - You can sift the powdered sugar before using if you want to ensure a smooth frosting.
• Heavy cream - You can substitute half and half if you don't have heavy cream. I have also used dairy-free heavy cream with success.
• Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract.
• Salt - Use kosher salt.

Ingredients for the decorations:

• Marshmallows - You'll need two large marshmallows to create each snowman body.
• Chocolate chips- Use mini chocolate chips to create the snowman's eyes and mouth of the snowmen.
• Orange sprinkles - I use orange sprinkles to create the snowman nose. But you can also use snipped off Starburst or mini orange jelly beans.
• Pretzel sticks - Snap pretzel sticks in half to create the snowman arms.
• M & M candies - Use regular or mini M & Ms in red and green to create the "buttons" on the snowman midsection.
• White sanding sugar - White shimmer sugar is thicker and larger than regular colored sugars and helps create a snowy winter wonderland appearance to the tops of each cupcake.
• White snowflake sprinkles - You can find these at any craft or bakery store. But you can be creative and use any larger cupcake decorations you want as the border decoration! Or, you can simply leave these out.

Alternative ideas

• Use chocolate cupcakes, box cake mix, or your favorite cupcake recipe instead of vanilla cupcakes.
• Use cream cheese frosting or any white frosting instead of vanilla buttercream frosting.

✅ Step-by-step instructions

The full list of ingredients and detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here are some step-by-step photos to help you make this snowman cupcakes recipe.

First, preheat your oven to 375°F. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 16, so you'll only need 4 cupcake liners in the second muffin tin.

1. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients for the cupcakes.
2. In a separate large bowl and using a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter.
3. Add the sugar and beat with the butter.

4. Beat in the eggs.

5. Beat in the vanilla.

6. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk.

7. Alternating adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the wet ingredients helps avoid excessive splashing and creates an even, smooth batter.

8. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out batter.

9. Fill each prepared lined muffin cup with batter, up to ¾ of the way full. Do not overfill!

10. Bake at 375°F for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 18-22 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Allow to cool at room temperature before decorating.

Make the vanilla buttercream frosting

While the cupcakes are baking, you can make the frosting!

1. Beat the room temperature butter until creamy. Then beat in the vanilla, salt, and heavy cream.
2. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
3. Beat smooth until the frosting is a nice thick yet still spreadable consistency. Add more heavy cream to thin out the frosting or more powdered sugar to thicken the frosting, as needed.

Decorating snowman cupcakes

After making the frosting, you can make the cute little snowmen!

1. Create the marshmallow head - make the eyes, nose, and mouth using mini chocolate chips and orange sprinkles. You can dab a little buttercream to the bottom of the chocolate chips and sprinkles to help them stick to the marshmallow.
2. Dab a little buttercream to the bottom of M & Ms then stick onto a second separate marshmallow.
3. Stick a toothpick through the bottom marshmallow and up into the bottom of the first marshmallow.

4. Secure the marshmallows onto the toothpick so that you don't see the toothpick except for a bit sticking out of the bottom. Set aside, and repeat the process until you have 16 total snowman figures.

5. Set the baked and cooled cupcakes onto a flat surgace.

6. Frost cupcakes with the buttercream frosting.

7. Sprinkle white sanding sugar over the tops of the frosted cupcakes.

8. If desired, add border decorations, like the larger snowflake sprinkles.

9. Stick half pretzels into the sides of the snowmen and then stick the toothpicks through the center of the cupcakes. Repeat with remaining cupcakes and snowmen.

Voilà! You've just crafted a fleet of the cutest snowman cupcakes that are almost too adorable to eat. Almost.

These delicious cupcakes are the life of the dessert party. Your guests will be absolutely smitten with your creative confections!

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQs

🍽 Serving ideas

These snowman cupcakes are absolutely adorable on their own. But if you're creating a holiday dessert table for your next Christmas party, consider making these desserts to go with them:

• Gingerbread Bundt Cakes
• Reindeer Cupcakes
• Soft Gingerbread Cookies
• Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
• Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Shortbread Cookies

🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment

Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:

• Muffin tin - You will need two muffin tins (cupcake pans)
• Cupcake liners - Use cute cupcake liners
• Large bowl & whisk - You'll need a large mixing bowl and a sturdy whisk.
• Stand mixer - A stand mixer makes quick work of mixing the batter. But you can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer.
• Scoop - a large cookie scoop makes it easy to scoop the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners.
• Icing bag - You can use a piping pag / pastry bag to make frosting easier, and to dab the decorations with just a little bit of frosting.

More holiday recipes

Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!