How To make Christmas Ornament Cupcakes

Baking is one of our favorite family traditions around the holidays! Cooking as a family is always a wonderful opportunity for us to slow down during this busy time of year and spend some quality time together making delicious Christmas desserts. These Christmas Ornament Cupcakes are an easy treat to make that will be the perfect addition to any holiday party dessert table!

By adding just a few extra decorations, your plain vanilla cupcakes will be transformed into adorable edible ornaments. And best of all, you can easily customize the decorations to make your own DIY Christmas Cupcake Ornaments!

Teaching Through Cooking:

Not only is cooking a great life skill to have, but it is also wonderful opportunity for some hands on learning! Here are some of the many skills you can teach while cooking:

• Fractions! Need one cup of an ingredient? Use a smaller measurement tool such as a half or third cup for some fraction exploration!
• Multiplication! Want to double or triple a recipe? This can be a great way to introduce multiplication.
• Sequential order! Following a recipe is a great lesson in reading comprehension and following directions.
• One to one correspondence! As little ones count out M&Ms, or other candies for these kid’s Christmas cupcakes they can practice counting one at a time and coming up with a total amount at the end.

Even small children can benefit from baking activities! Holding a spoon to stir, pouring ingredients into a bowl, and placing candies onto Christmas cakes, cupcakes, and other treats are all great activities to strengthen fine motor skills.

Other Benefits of Cooking With Kids:

There are many other benefits of cooking with kids besides the educational ones mentioned above!

Cooking with kids provides a way for them to express themselves creatively when they put their own spin on a recipe or make their own decorating design.

Giving children a job to do while cooking teaches them responsibility and gives them a chance to demonstrate their independence!

Finally, cooking together as a family gives children the opportunity to take turns and work together for a common goal. (which in this case is creative delicious Christmas treats!)

Tips For Cooking With Kids:

Cooking with kids can be super fun, but also super messy! Follow these tips to keep the mess to a minimum and maximize your family time while cooking.

• Prepare ahead of time. Set out as many ingredients and cooking utensils as possible before you start to bake, that way anything you need is just a short reach away!
• Line your counters with wax paper or paper towels for a quick way to dispose of spills and ingredient drips.
• When decorating cupcakes topped with sprinkles and other candies, put them into small bowls, cupcake liners, or individual plates to make it easy for small hands to access the decorations.
• Keep a roll of paper towels, hand wipes, and a wet dish towel handy for fast and easy clean up of sticky hands.
• Set up a designated “helper area” for your children to sit so that the mess stays contained to one area. It is also a good idea to make sure this area is away from the hot oven for safety reasons!

How To Make These Easy Christmas Ornament Cupcakes For Kids:

Supplies:

• Vanilla cupcake mix
• Cupcake liners
• Vanilla store-bought frosting
• Rolos
• Red and green M&Ms

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to the specified temperature on the cake mix box. Line your cupcake tins with the cupcake liners to help with easy clean up!

Prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Pour the cake mix into the lined cupcake tins and place the pan into the oven.

Once the cupcakes have been cooked and cooled, frost the cupcakes with your white store-bought frosting.

Pour the sugar into a small bowl. Dip the top of the frosted cupcake into the sugar.

Make a line of green M&Ms using about four candies.

Under your green line of candies, make a red line of candies using about five red M&Ms.

Make another green line of candies underneath the red line using about four more green M&Ms.

Using the leftover frosting, dab a small amount on the bottom of a Rolo. Place it at the top of your cupcake ornament!

Enjoy your delicious cupcakes decorated like an ornament!

Gifting Your Christmas Ornament Cupcakes:

It’s very rare that we have leftover cupcakes in my house, but if you happen to have leftovers or if you decide to make a double batch to spread Christmas cheer, here are some ideas for packaging them!

• Decorate a red or clear plastic container with holiday stickers!
• Use a small, white, cardboard cake box and wrap it like a present. (just make sure the recipient doesn’t wait too long to open the gift!)
• Place the cupcakes into clear treat bags and tie some festive colored ribbon around the top to secure the bag!

More Christmas Cupcake Decorating Ideas:

• Fill some piping bags with colored icing and let your little one draw their own picture on the top of the cupcake. They can create a Santa hat cupcake, snowman cupcake, Christmas light cupcake, or Christmas tree cupcake!
• Crush up some candy canes and dip your frosted cupcakes into them for a colorful (and yummy) red and white decoration!
• Change up the flavor of your cupcakes. Chocolate, peanut butter, and gingerbread cupcakes are all wonderful flavor options!