Description
These Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cupcakes are festive, moist, and topped with a creamy cream cheese frosting blended with crumbled Christmas Tree cakes. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they feature a tender vanilla cupcake base with a rich, colorful frosting swirl decorated with green sanding sugar for a cheerful holiday look.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcakes
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 10 Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Red gel food coloring, to desired color
- Green sanding sugar, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pans: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners for easy cupcake removal and cleanup.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a stand mixer bowl or large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add eggs, oil, and vanilla: Mix in the eggs one at a time, then add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Incorporate milk: Pour in the whole milk and mix until combined. The batter may look curdled, which is normal at this stage.
- Add dry ingredients: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed until most dry ingredients are incorporated, then increase to medium speed and mix until fully blended with no lumps.
- Fill cupcake liners: Spoon the batter into each cupcake liner, filling them about half to two-thirds full to allow room for rising.
- Bake cupcakes: Place the pans in the preheated oven and bake for 16 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare frosting base: In a clean bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese, and salt on medium speed with a whisk or paddle attachment until smooth and creamy.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla: Mix in the vanilla extract and powdered sugar on low speed to avoid a sugar cloud, until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Crush Christmas Tree cakes: Using a food processor, pulse the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes until crumbled and creamy. Alternatively, use a hand mixer but expect a slightly lumpy texture.
- Combine cakes with frosting: Add the crushed cakes to the frosting bowl and mix on medium speed with a paddle attachment until the mixture is smooth and well blended.
- Prepare red frosting: Scoop about half a cup of the frosting into a separate bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of milk and red gel food coloring, and stir thoroughly until evenly colored.
- Fill piping bags: Transfer the red frosting into a piping or storage bag. Fit another piping bag with a large star tip and fill with the remaining frosting.
- Pipe frosting onto cupcakes: Pipe a tall swirl of white frosting on each cooled cupcake using the large star tip. Then, cut a small hole at the tip of the red frosting bag and drizzle the red frosting back and forth over the white swirl for a festive touch.
- Decorate: Sprinkle green sanding sugar generously over each cupcake to simulate Christmas tree decorations.
- Storage: Because of the cream cheese, store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. They can be kept at room temperature for 1 to 2 days safely.
Notes
- For best results, use room temperature butter and eggs to ensure even mixing and a tender crumb.
- Do not overmix the batter once the flour is added to avoid tough cupcakes.
- If you don’t have a food processor, crumble the Christmas Tree cakes by hand or with a hand mixer, but note the frosting may have texture.
- You can adjust the intensity of the red frosting by adding more or less gel coloring depending on your preference.
- Store leftover cupcakes in the fridge due to the cream cheese frosting to keep them fresh and safe to eat.
- If green sanding sugar is unavailable, finely chopped green colored sugar crystals or sprinkles can be used as an alternative.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
