AND HE’S COMING IN 21 DAYS.
(Better pick up that phone…)
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Wow. So it’s really December! Holy crap, right? Thanksgiving has come & gone. Black Friday is over, as is Cyber Monday (which sounds very dirty to me, sorry I’m a child of the ’90’s when “cybersex” was the big parental fear, not “sexting”). The pumpkins are gone & being replaced with lights. ‘Tis the season of Christmas cookies, Hanukkah recipes & gifts of all shapes & sizes. ‘Tis the season of peppermint everything & mistletoe, snow & fireplaces, Christmas lists & long lines. Toys & sleds. Snow & red noses.
I love Christmas time, but really, it’s enough to make you want to crawl under a down comforter until February. So let’s ease into it all, shall we? How about easing into it with some polka dot cupcakes, and some hot cocoa? Sound good to you? Vanilla cupcakes, with little green dots made from the same vanilla batter. So easy!
(Mugs & plates from Target. And yes, the mugs & plates are small… the cupcakes aren’t huge!)
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It’s so simple. Here’s what you do:
- Just pick your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, make it, then take about 1/2 cup of the batter, maybe even just 1/4 cup, and put in in a separate bowl.
- Tint it whatever color you want (you can also do a few different colors by dividing the batter further).
- Pour the plain vanilla batter into cupcake liners, as usual.
- Then take the colored batter & spoon it into a disposable pastry bag, snip off the very bottom and carefully pipe “dots” on to the tops of your unbaked cupcakes. Or, you could use a very small round piping tip if you have one. My dots were uneven… what else is new, haha- but once they were baked you couldn’t even tell anyway.
- You can do red & green dots on vanilla cupcakes, plain vanilla dots in red velvet cupcakes, chocolate dots in vanilla cupcakes, vanilla dots in red velvet cupcakes, red dots in chocolate cupcakes, etc, etc, etc. The possibilities are endless!
I didn’t frost mine so the dots were visible. If you want, you could probably pipe the dots in layers so that you get polka dots all the way through the cupcakes. Never done it myself, but it’s worth a shot. The liners are from Michael’s, not sure what brand they are. You can definitely get similar red/white polka dot liners at any number of places, though: sweet estelle baking supply, Layer Cake Shop, Bake it Pretty, The Cupcake Social, Sweet Cuppin Cakes. Wherever you like to shop. I think dotted liners in a contrasting color look so cute, but stripes would be adorable too!
And of course… the cupcakes wouldn’t be complete without some hot cocoa!
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CUPCAKE REHAB’S HOT COCOA*
Makes about 6 servings, depending on the size of your mugs *wink*
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (you can use dark, too)
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- Candy canes, mini marshmallows, whipped cream & peppermint schnapps/peppermint syrup (all optional)
Directions:
- Mix dry ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir in the hot water & bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil, stirring, for 2 minutes.
- Stir in milk and heat, but do not boil. Remove from the heat & add vanilla. Pour into mugs.
- Add a dash of peppermint schnapps, if desired, then add whatever you like on top: whipped cream, mini marshmallows or both. Add a candy cane stirrer (or crushed candy canes on top) & enjoy!
*this hot cocoa also works well with a dash of cinnamon sugar & a pinch of cayenne pepper instead of peppermint schnapps & candy canes.
If you’re caught without candy canes (hey, it’s only the BEGINNING OF DECEMBER!), some hard peppermint candies will, when smashed, work the same way. Or, you can use a squirt of peppermint syrup in the cocoa and skip the crushed candies on top. The peppermint is optional altogether, however, so don’t sweat it. I personally like a little peppermint in my hot chocolate, but this cocoa happens to be good enough on it’s own to stand up without any fancy stuff.
On that note, I look forward to spending another holiday season with all of you. Sláinte!
I'm Marilla. A 30-something artist, hobby baker, home canning enthusiast, gardener, DIY-er, wife, mommy of a baby boy and dog mom (to another baby boy) from New York. 
Those cupcakes remind me of the mushrooms from Super Mario 🙂
Haha. Everyone is saying that… They do! That’s what I thought when they were done, too. Well there’s another great idea: Super Mario Bros. cupcakes!
Oh man, it IS December. *Runs away from mall.* These cupcakes are giving me Super Mario Brothers flashbacks too!
I know. I can’t believe it’s December. I say that every month it seems, but jeez. Time is freakin’ flying by!
Good thing I didn’t make them red velvet with vanilla dots! Haha. Then they’d certainly look like toadstools… I’m hearing the video game music in my head as I type…
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