Reindeer Cupcakes

These quick and easy chocolatey Reindeer Cupcakes start with cake mix and are decorated with store-bought chocolate frosting, candy eyeballs, pretzels and red candies to make them look like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer! Such a cute and easy Christmas treat for parties or the perfect dessert for gatherings!

Reindeer cupcakes made with chocolate cake mix, store-bought frosting, and decorations are such an easy and fun holiday recipe! I like to keep things simple during the Christmas season, don’t you?

These treats are perfect for your Christmas party or for sharing with family and friends. They couldn’t be easier to make, and they look so sweet when they’re finished!

The kids will love helping to mix, bake and decorate these quick and easy cupcakes.

Why This Recipe Works

• You can use your favorite homemade chocolate cupcake recipe or your favorite cake mix.
• For the frosting, I pick up a tub of prepared chocolate frosting, but if you have a homemade version you love, feel free to go the DIY route!
• Pretzels, chocolate candies, and cute candy eyes are the only decorations you need. 

Christmas cupcakes are always so fun – we love to make Grinch cupcakes, too – and I know you’re going to love this easy recipe.

Ingredients for Reindeer Cupcakes

• Chocolate cake mix – Plus the ingredients listed on the box to make the cupcakes (usually eggs, water and vegetable oil). You can also use your favorite homemade chocolate cake if you want.
• Store-bought chocolate frosting – Or your favorite homemade chocolate buttercream recipe.
• Candy eyes – Find them in the baking aisle or at craft stores.
• Chocolate candies – M&Ms work great! Flip them so the M is facing down! Don’t forget to pick out all of the red ones so you have Rudolph cupcakes!
• Mini pretzels – Slice them in half to make the reindeer antlers.

Helpful Tools

• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners
• Offset spatula
• Cookie scoop

How to Make Christmas Reindeer Cupcakes

Line a cupcake pan with paper liners and preheat the oven to the temperature recommended on the mix.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry cake mix ingredients with wet ingredients, or use a hand mixer. Bake according to the instructions on the box. You will need 24 cupcakes.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting. 

When cupcakes are cooled, frost the tops with chocolate frosting using an offset spatula. Make the reindeer’s face by placing the eyes and red M&M on top of the cupcake. Stick the pretzel halves into the cupcake, so they stick up above the eyes.

Serve or store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

How to cool cupcakes quickly

If you are baking with a time crunch or have kiddos waiting patiently to decorate, an easy way to help the cupcakes cool a little more quickly is to place them on a wire rack once they are cool enough to touch and transfer.

Recipe Tips

Make Ahead: You can bake the cupcakes the day before decorating. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Decorating Tip: I love making these with my kids! I make the cupcakes and then organize all of the decorating supplies for them. They love to practice their frosting skills and use the candy to make the cute reindeer faces.

Storage Tip: The decorated cupcakes will keep for a few days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a few days longer.

Substitutions: For a little bit of a flavor boost, use butter and milk or cream in place of vegetable oil and water. You can even add a splash of vanilla extract!

No Mess Scooping: Love baking cupcakes but not the mess of scooping the batter into the liners? Use a cookie scoop to minimize the gooey mess!

Have a lot of leftover pretzels? You can use them to make other Christmas recipes like my reindeer pretzels or reindeer graham cracker treats!

If you need an easy sweet treat this holiday season, you have to make these cute reindeer cupcakes! I know you’re going to love them, and your family will, too. Enjoy!

More Christmas Activities

• Make adorable Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments! You only need two ingredients, and you can save them to display for years to come.
• Gingerbread Puppets are an easy craft project for the kiddos!
• Make a batch of Reindeer Food to leave for Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve!
• Play a game of Christmas Charades that the whole family will love!

If you take a picture and share them on Instagram, make sure to #kidsactivityzone or tag us @kidsactivityzoneblog so we can see them!