Christmas Baking with Snowman Cupcakes

I sure miss having children around the house. When my kids were growing up this time of year was so busy for us as I would be baking up all sorts of Christmas Baking  for the upcoming holidays and for their parties at school, etc.  There would be cakes and cookies and tarts, and all sorts.

Now that there is only Todd and myself, my baking is of course cut way back.  Two people can only eat so much food . . . I do love to make a tasty Christmas Cake Recipe every year . . . as well as a delicious Christmas Pudding Recipe.

 

 Today I found the cutest Snowman Cupcakes on the Baking Mad Site.  I thought they were really cute and they looked like something children would really enjoy.  I sure wish that my grandchildren lived closer to me . . . I would sure love to spoil them with something like this.  I think they are quite adorable . . .

Alas once I had the cupcakes in the oven baking . . . I realized that I didn't have everything that I needed to decorate them, and the Toddster had just settled into watching one of his cowboy films, Mitzie was not feeling well . . . and I didn't feel like I could ask him to go to the shops.  Truth be told, he never comes back with what I want anyways . . . it boggles my mind sometimes how he can get it so wrong!  ☺



So what you are seeing here today . . . is my adaptation of the recipe on the Baking Mad Page.  I didn't have the ready roll icing in white . . . so I made a simple fondant that I spooned over top and let set.  I didn't have black and red designer icings either, so I cut up bits of licorice to  use as eyes and smiles . . .



I rouged their cheeks with a little bit of watered down red food coloring and a paint brush . . .  and I dusted their noses with a bit of orange.



This one is called MUMBLES because he was born without a mouth.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!)



I didn't have the proper things for the scarves either . . . but I did have some turquoise blue ready roll icing and so I just made their scarves out of that.  Not perfect but . . . I guess they turned out OK.  When needs must and all that!

 

They do look rather cute lined up in a row, like a lot of little soldiers don't you think??  My grandsons would just adore  a treat like this . . .

Maybe one year I will get lucky and be able to bake something like this for them!  In the meantime I can just dream about it.  The thought of it makes me smile . . . just like one of these silly looking snowmen!



 *Christmas Snowmen Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Cute, easy to make and quite, quite delicious!  (Adapted from the Bakingmad.com site.)

150g of butter (scant 2/3 cup)
150g of golden caster sugar (generous 3/4 cup superfine sugar)
3 large free range eggs, beaten
150g of self raising flour (1 cup + 2TBS)
1/2 tsp baking powder
few drops pure vanilla extract

To decorate:
225g of white ready to roll icing (1 pound)
4 TBS Apricot jam
1 TBS hot water
12 White Marshmallows
1 TBS dessicated coconut
silver balls
red candy strawberry belts
black designer icing
red designer icing

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. 

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.  Gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla, making sure it is well amalgamated.  If your eggs begin to curdle add a tbs of the flour.  Whisk together the flour and baking powder.  Stir this into the creamed mixture along with the vanilla until smooth.  Divide the mixture equally amongst the muffin cups.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until risen, golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before proceeding.

Dust the counter top with icing sugar and roll out the ready to roll icing 1/4 inch thick.  Cut out 12 circles which are slightly smaller than the tops of the cupcakes.  Mix together the apricot jam and the water.  Brush some on the top of each cupcake and then top with the circles of icing.  Brush some jam on one flat side of each marshmallow and stick one on top of each icing circle slightly off centre.  Roll the scraps of icing into 12 small balls for the noses.  Roll in apricot jam and then in the coconut.  Attach to the faces using a little dab of jam.  Pipe a bit of black on for the eyes and red for the smiles.  Using a dab of apricot jam stick on the silver balls for buttons.  Wrap the strawberry belts around the marshmallows for scarves.

Store in an airtight container.

 

Not only does MUMBLES find himself unable to speak . ..  but he is quite, quite unable to follow directions either . . . as you can see he's somehow found himself standing out of line . . .



He was the first to fall . . .  poor little MUMBLES . . . I bet he wished he'd been a bit better at following directions.  *tee *hee*