Festive Face Cupcakes
Festive cupcakes topped with Santa Claus face cookies, decorated with buttercream frosting and royal icing.
Ingredients
cupcakes (baked and cooled)
to taste
buttercream frosting (recipe on p.118)
to taste
royal icing (recipe on p.118)
to taste
rolled cookies (cut into Santa faces with small oval cutter; recipe on p.118)
to taste
powdered egg white (for royal icing)
to taste
small oval cookie cutter
1
4-inch lollipop sticks (for supporting cookies)
as needed
Instructions
1
Make Santa face cookies in advance
Prepare and roll out cookie dough; cut shapes with a small oval cookie cutter. Bake and let cool completely.
2
Decorate the cookies
Pipe royal icing onto the cookies on a parchment-lined cake board. Smooth the icing surface; let it set. Use a size 6 piping tip to outline and fill hat and ear areas (smooth with a finger dusted with cornstarch).
3
Add cookie details
Use a size 1 piping tip to pipe eyes, noses and mouth outlines. Use a size 2 tip to pipe beard swirls and hat decorations. Let the icing dry fully.
4
Attach cookies to sticks
Use small dots of buttercream frosting to stick decorated cookies to lollipop sticks; let dry.
5
Decorate the cupcakes
Spread buttercream frosting evenly over cupcakes; use a spatula to create a rounded top surface.
6
Assemble and finish
Insert cookie sticks into cupcakes. Use a size 12 piping tip to outline arms, size 6 tip to pipe gloves. Use size 2 tip to pipe cuff swirls. Use size 6 tip to pipe a border around the cupcake top. Each serves 1 person.
