Merry Christmas from the Cupcake Activist Family

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Disney Cupcake Ornament

I recently spent a few days at Walt Disney World in Florida and I found sprinklings of cupcakes EVERYWHERE!

I found this Mickey-themed cupcake ornament at Disney's Day of Christmas at Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World.. Did you know there was a Christmas store open all year round there? I didn't, but it gave me the perfect excuse to start my Christmas shopping.

More Disney cupcake fun coming up this week!

Thank You, Our Best Bites

This year I was in charge of dessert for Christmas Eve at my parent's house. I wanted to do something delicious and decadent. I found my answer at Our Best Bites. I've made a bunch of recipes from this website before for dinners, but this was my first dessert one.

The recipe I used was: Dulce de Leche Banana Toffee Pie.

Luckily I looked at this recipe the night before because I didn't realize that I needed the sweetened condensed milk to make dulce de leche. If I would have known, I would have just bought dulce de leche. BUT it was 10pm at night and I was too lazy to go to the store....again.

So I learned how to make dulce de leche. And surprisingly it was easier than I thought. I also used a recipe from Our Best Bites. You can find it here.

I finished making the rest of the pie the rest day. So many delicious ingredients went into this pie so I knew the end result would be amazing. That night my suspicions were confirmed: delicious! 

My family loved it. I couldn't help but eat two slices myself. And the funny part? My mom got me Our Best Bites recipe book as a Christmas gift. She knows me too well. Thanks Mom!

Holiday Cupcake Recipes

Christmas may be over, but the winter holidays are still here. Check out these fun holiday cupcake recipes that will make you want to stay near the fireplace.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from Me and My Pink Mixer

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Cappuccino Eggnog Angel Food Cupcakes from Cupcake Project

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White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes from The Baking Pan

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Merry Christmas from The Cupcake Activist and Family

No explanation needed for this photo. I think it's a ritual in every kids life. This Santa was the coolest ever for pretending to cry too.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Enjoy time with your family and eat lots of good food. Thank you for following me through another year of cupcake eating, triathlons, and struggling to be a first-time mom.

Melting Snowman Cupcakes

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My mom sent me a link to these Melting Snowman Cookies (thanks Mom!). These could very easily turn into Melting Snowman Cupcakes. I love the idea, especially since my cupcake frosting skills aren't the greatest. I can't wait to start my holiday baking!

Holiday Cupcake Ideas

Just one week left! One week to shop, bake, decorate, party, and stress out. What? You don't stress out? Well, I'll admit that I stress out a little bit, but it's all forgotten by the time Christmas Day rolls around.

I've gathered a few recipes for holiday-inspired cupcakes. There's still plenty of time for baking, which is one of my favorite parts of this season. So fire up that oven and get going!

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes from Java Cupcake

Panettone - Cupcake Style from Cupcake Project

Eggnog Latte Cupcakes from Cupcake Project

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from Picky Palate

Christmas Stollen Cupcakes from Cupcake Project

Christmastime isn't complete without hot chocolate. Our Best Bites gives us some recipes for homemade hot chocolate. Flavors include: Holiday Spice, Raspberry Truffle, Chocolate Hazelnut, Caramel Fudge, and Peppermint Stick. Yum!

Gingersnap Cupcakes from Picky Palate

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Sweet are the ket to happiness, or at least they are for me. This year for Christmas I'm baking a plate of goodies for my friends and family.

I've been collecting the best, most festive desserts ideas. I frequently go to Picky Palate when searching for yummy recipes. I came across these Gingerbread Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Buttercream frosting. I'm pretty sure they will be on my list of holiday goodies.

Chocolaty Peppermint Cupcakes from BH&G

Photo: BH&G

The other day I spotted this chocolaty peppermint cupcake on the cover of Better Homes & Garden at Target. What a simple, but creative way to make your cupcakes more festive! To create this look, just cut your cupcakes horizontally and add some frosting in the middle and on top. Roll the cupcakes in crushed peppermint candies. You can find the full recipe on Better Homes & Garden's website.

Merry Christmas Cupcakes!

Yesterday I posted some last minute holiday treats, but I didn't include any cupcakes. Christmas wouldn't be complete without cupcakes, so here are a few ideas for all of you last-minute bakers like myself. Have a Merry Christmas!

Nutcracker Cupcakes from Duncan Hines

Ornament Cupcakes from Duncan Hines

Gingerbread Boy Cupcakes from Duncan Hines

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting from Beantown Baker

Last Minute Holiday Treats

In case you didn't notice, Christmas is only two days away! Ahhh! I hope you're ready. The only thing left on my list is making my Christmas goodies, but that's probably my favorite part of Christmas anyway. Here are the recipes for some of my favorite Christmas goodies. I hope you enjoy them too. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Crunch from Bakerella

Eggnog Sandwich Cookies from Baked Perfection

Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies from Baked Perfection

Red and Green Christmas Cookies from Cakespy

Extreme Toasted Marshmallow Candy Bar Rice Crispy Bars from Picky Palate

Gingerbread Pancakes from Sugarcrafter

Reindeer Chow from Bakerella

Monkey Muffins

Photo: Pioneer Woman

One of my family traditions growing up was to make Christmas rolls on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we would pop the rolls in the oven and let the wonderful aroma engulf our house as we opened presents . "Christmas rolls" were frozen monkey rolls that were baked in a bundt pan and sprinkled with butterscotch pudding mix and butter.

Pioneer Woman has a recipe for Monkey Muffins that I plan on trying this year. Besides the dough (you can use frozen bread dough), all these muffins require is butter, sugar, cinnamon, and sweetened condensed milk. Yummy! I think this could be a Christmas tradition my husband will like!

Christmas Cupcakes 2009

December just barely started, but I already wondering where the time went! So much to do in so little time. I just love this time of year! Enjoy some Christmas cupcakes!

Photo: Bakerella

Photo: abbietabbie

Photo: alana_hodgson

Photo: West-Sacramento

Photo: Jujycakes

Photo: momskitchen

Photo: Bakerella

Cupcakes and Christmas

This month I am featuring a special called "The 12 Days of Cupcakes." On each of the 12 days leading up to Christmas, I will post about a different cupcakery from Orange County. The scary part is how fast Christmas is approaching ... my first post will be on Saturday!

Snowman Cupcakes

My husband's aunt made these delicious cupcakes for our family Christmas party. She is quite the talented chef.
The top layer of cupcakes were non-dairy (for those few lactose intolerant family members). A few cupcakes were red velvet, because she had some batter left over from the peppermint red velvet cake she made. The majority of the cupcakes were white cake with coconut frosting.She used some edible glitter to decorate the snowmen's faces. It was quite hilarious to see glitter all over my husband's lips.

Cupcake Ornament

I thought we only had to bring a white elephant gift to the Christmas party we attended on Saturday night. Apparently, we also had to bring our creativity. In case it wasn't obvious, I made the cupcake ornament. Can't wait to hang it on our tree!

Ahhh! Christmas is coming!

This...

...means it's time for this...

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and be safe while shopping on Friday! It's going to be crazy!