Christmas Holly Cupcakes

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5 from 48 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Cooling and Decorating: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 5 minutes

These Holly Cupcakes make beautiful holiday treats with only 5 ingredients. When you’re in a rush for a festive treat and only have half an hour to bake, these cupcakes are for you.

Christmas Holly Cupcakes next to a toy red truck and pinecones.

Christmas Holly Cupcakes are a festive and utterly delicious way to celebrate this holiday season. Christmas is full of celebration and joy, so make this quick and easy Christmas cupcake. With cupcakes this beautiful, no one will ever suspect that it’s just a boxed vanilla cake mix topped with vanilla frosting and festive sprinkles. While holly leaves were originally believed to ward away evil spirits and witches, they’re now used as a festive decoration for the holidays.


MORE CHRISTMAS RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gingerbread Man Cupcakes | Easy Christmas Tree Cupcakes | Christmas Poke Cake


What We Love About This Recipe

  • 10 Minute Prep: Have these cupcakes ready to bake in only 10 minutes.
  • Easy Ingredients: Made with simple ingredients such as cake mix, frosting, and sprinkles.
  • Family Friendly: Easy and fun for kids to make with adult supervision.
  • Adaptable: Make with your favorite cake mix flavors.

Ingredient Notes

  • Vanilla Cake Mix: Bake per instructions on the box and add ingredients as needed.
  • Green Writing Icing: This is for the holly leaves. Use a small leaf tip for the best results.
  • Vanilla Frosting: To coat the top of the cupcakes. Mix in a drop of green food coloring so it is a lighter green than the leaves for a more festive look.
Christmas Holly Cupcakes next to a toy red truck and pinecones.

Variations and Substitutions

  • Gold Ball Sprinkles – You can also use cold disco dust, snowflake sprinkles, or festive sprinkles instead.
  • Green Writing Icing – If you want to decorate faster, try holly mix sprinkles that include holly leaves and the red berries.

How to Make Christmas Cupcake Recipes

These are the basic steps for making Christmas Holly Cupcakes. Please refer to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

STEP 1: CUPCAKES

Bake cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Cool completely before decorating.

STEP 2: FROSTING

Add vanilla frosting into a piping bag with a large star tip. Begin piping frosting along the outer edge of the cupcakes. Slowly circle towards the center of the cupcake until it is completely frosted.

a collage of 2 images showing how to decorate cupcakes for Christmas.

STEP 3: DECORATE

Place 2-3 red ball sprinkles together on each cupcake. This will be the center of the holly.

STEP 4: LEAVES

Use the small leaf decorating tip on the end of the green writing frosting. Pipe two small leaves carefully on both sides of the red ball sprinkles on each cupcake.

a collage of 2 images showing how to decorate cupcakes for Christmas.

STEP 5: GOLD SPRINKLES

Add several gold ball sprinkles to each cupcake for decoration.

Prep and Storage Tips

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE AHEAD OF TIME

Make these cupcakes a day or two in advance and frost and decorate them before serving for the best results.

HOW TO STORE THIS RECIPE

Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

HOW TO FREEZE THIS RECIPE

Individually wrap cupcakes in plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

WHY IS MY FROSTING RUNNING?

Most likely, the cupcakes were not cool enough before decorating. Let cupcakes cool completely before decorating for the best results.

HOW CAN I MAKE THESE CUPCAKES SWEETER?

Use white sanding sugar to make the tops of the cupcakes look like glittering snow. Sanding sugar is easy to apply and sweet to eat.

CAN THIS RECIPE BE DOUBLED OR HALVED?

This recipe is super easy to double. Simply buy multiple cake mixes and cans of frosting to double this recipe.

SHOULD I SPRAY CUPCAKE LINERS

A small amount of nonstick cooking spray helps you easily peel away the liner without losing any of these delicious cupcakes.

Expert Tips for Making This Recipe

  • This Recipe Can be Doubled: This is a great recipe for a crowd. Simply increase the cake mix and frosting proportionately and split it into multiple muffin tins before baking.
  • Add Peppermint for Flavor: Mix some peppermint extract into the icing for a burst of holiday flavor. Also, mix in a drop of red or green food coloring to add a tint to the icing before piping.
  • Short cut tip: Use holly mix sprinkles with leaves and berries to skip decorating with writing icing. This is much easier for young children and people on the go.
  • Variation tip: Try white, chocolate, or other cake mix flavors for variations at parties so everyone can enjoy their favorite flavor.
  • DIY Piping Bag: If you’re out of piping bags, simply cut the corner of a plastic baggie and fill with frosting.

What to Serve with Christmas Holly Cupcakes.

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5 from 48 votes

Christmas Holly Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Cooling and Decorating: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 5 minutes
These Holly Cupcakes make beautiful holiday treats with only 5 ingredients. When you're in a rush for a festive treat and only have half an hour to bake, these cupcakes are for you.
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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!

Equipment

  • Mixer
  • Cupcake Liners
  • Muffin Tin
  • Star Decorating Tip
  • Tiny Leaf Decorating Tip

Ingredients

  • 15.25 ounce box vanilla cake mix, plus ingredients needed to make
  • 16 ounce can vanilla frosting
  • red ball sprinkles
  • gold ball sprinkles
  • green writing icing

Instructions

  • Bake cupcakes according to directions on box and let cool completely before decorating.
  • Add frosting to piping bag with large star tip. Begin piping frosting along the outer edge of each cupcake. Slowly pipe in a circle towards the center until each cupcake is fully covered.
  • Place 2-3 red ball sprinkles in a cluster on each cupcake, this will be the holly berries.
  • Using a small leaf decorating tip on the end of the green writing frosting, carefully pipe two small leaves on both sides of the red ball sprinkles on each cupcake.
  • Sprinkle a few gold ball sprinkles on each cupcake.

Expert Tips

  • This Recipe Can be Doubled: This is a great recipe for a crowd. Simply increase the cake mix and frosting proportionately and split it into multiple muffin tins before baking.
  • Add Peppermint for Flavor: Mix some peppermint extract into the icing for a burst of holiday flavor. Also, mix in a drop of red or green food coloring to add a tint to the icing before piping.
  • Short cut tip: Use holly mix sprinkles with leaves and berries to skip decorating with writing icing. This is much easier for young children and people on the go.
  • Variation tip: Try white, chocolate, or other cake mix flavors for variations at parties so everyone can enjoy their favorite flavor.
  • DIY Piping Bag: If you’re out of piping bags, simply cut the corner of a plastic baggie and fill with frosting.

Estimated Nutritional Information

Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 20g | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.4mg
The nutritional information provided are estimates. To learn more about how I calculate this information go to www.itisakeeper.com/about-its-a-keeper/privacy-disclosure-policies/
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

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