Bring the magic of Christmas to your holiday dessert table with these Christmas ornament cupcakes. Perfect for festive dessert spreads, Holiday party desserts, or a Christmas bake sale, these easy bauble cupcakes look just like glittering tree ornaments but taste like pure vanilla cupcake bliss.

With easy-to-follow steps, this fun holiday baking project is perfect for both kids and adults.

Whether you’re searching for cute Christmas cupcakes or creative holiday cupcake ideas, these edible ornaments are sure to impress your guests and add a playful touch to your Christmas treats lineup.

If you love holiday baking, you may also like these festive pinwheel cookies, these Christmas Tree sugar cookies, or one of these cute Christmas cupcake recipes.

Why You’ll Love This Christmas Ornament Cupcakes Recipe

Fun and festive design: These holiday cupcakes look just like sparkling Christmas tree ornaments, complete with colorful frosting, gold sanding sugar, and a mini Reese’s “hanger.” They make a playful and eye-catching addition to any holiday dessert table.

Simple to make: Starting with a boxed cake mix and easy buttercream frosting, this decorated cupcake recipe is approachable for any skill level. Even beginner bakers can create professional-looking bauble cupcakes with a few simple decorating tools.

Perfect for holiday celebrations: These cute Christmas cupcakes are ideal for gifting, work parties, or Christmas party dessert spreads, and such a fun, delicious way to celebrate the season!

Ornament Cupcake Ingredients

To make these decorated cupcakes you’ll need the ingredients labelled in the images below. I cover a few of the key ingredients here, and you can find the specific quantities and steps in the recipe card below.

ornament cupcakes decoration ingredients labelled.

Food coloring: For festive green and red frosting, soft gel pastes are often the best option for achieving deep intense colors. I like the AmeriColor range.
Box cake mix: To make this recipe quick and easy, we use a box cake mix for the cupcakes. As box mixes vary, you will need to check the box for the ingredients needed to bake the cupcakes. You won’t need to use the frosting in the box.
Decorating items: I use sanding sugar and M&Ms for the festive cupcake decorations, but you can really use whatever you like to decorate your christmas ornament cupcakes. Other great options are edible pearls, green, red, and white sanding sugar, and a good range of piping tip sizes and shapes to create different frosting patterns.

How To Make Christmas Bauble Cupcakes

Here’s a quick overview of how to make decorated Christmas bauble cupcakes. For the full recipe details, including ingredients and measurements needed, scroll down to the printable recipe card below.

You will need a 12-cup muffin pan, cupcake liners, a hand or stand mixer and mixing bowls to get started.

Step 1: Bake the cupcakes according the directions on the box mix. Let them cool completely before decorating.

Use a stand or hand mixer to make the buttercream frosting. Mix the butter, then add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and a little milk at a time until the frosting reaches the desired consistency for piping.

Note: If your box mix makes more than 12 cupcakes, you can either double the frosting ingredients below, or use them for a different christmas cupcake recipe.

Step 2: Prepare the frosting. Place half the frosting in a piping bag with a medium tip (the shape doesn’t matter).

Divide the remaining frosting between two smaller bowls. Use the red and green food coloring to create the shades you prefer in each bowl, mixing until well combined. Put each of these frosting colors into a piping bag with small tips for decorating.

Step 3: Prepare the cupcakes. The first step to decorate these cupcakes is to give them a nice firm white frosting base to decorate on top of.

Cut 12 squares of parchment paper that are slightly larger than a cupcake. Pipe a single layer of the white frosting into the center of each cupcake.

Press each cupcake down onto the parchment paper and press gently. You want the frosting to spread out into a flat layer across the top of the cupcake. Place the cupcakes face down on the parchment paper on a tray and put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up.

Remove the cupcakes from the freezer, gently peel back the parchment paper and prepare to decorate.

Step 4: Decorate the cupcakes. Now is the time to unleash your cupcake decorating creativity! Decorate each cupcake with a different design using a combination of sanding sugar, festive frosting, and M&Ms.

The final step is to press a mini Reese’s cup to the top of each cupcake to give them a fun edible ornament look. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Tips For Success

Cool cupcakes completely before decorating: Make sure the cupcakes are fully cooled before frosting to prevent the buttercream from melting or sliding off.

Chill for clean, smooth tops: Freezing the frosted cupcakes for 10-15 minutes helps flatten the tops and makes decorating easier, giving your Christmas ornament cupcakes a polished, professional look.

Use stiff frosting for decorating: Adjust the milk in your buttercream gradually – too much can make it runny. A thicker consistency helps your holiday baking designs hold their shape beautifully.

How To Store Christmas Cupcakes

These decorated cupcakes are best enjoyed the same day or within 1 day of decorating. After this time the colored frosting and color from the M&Ms may start to leach into the plain frosting.

To reduce the chance of this happening, once your cupcakes are frosted and decorated, store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

I don’t recommend freezing decorated cupcakes, but unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months.