Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes

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Spiced Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes take rich vanilla cupcakes spiced with nutmeg and studded with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries and top them off with fluffy vanilla frosting.

I don’t know about you but this year I’m starting the holiday season early.   That means I’m doing all the baking. I’ve made a list of holiday cookies, cupcakes, and cakes I wanted to make and I started baking them November 1.

I’ve made cranberry white chocolate cookies and bars in the past but this year I decided to turn them into cupcakes. I went looking for fun holiday cupcake wrappers and happen to have a bunch of different red and green ones in the pantry so I grabbed a selection of those.

I took my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe and added in some nutmeg for spice.   Then I folded in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.   My first attempt failed miserably.   I actually tried to melt the white chocolate and mix it into the batter that way but the cupcakes rose, spread, and then deflated into a big mess.

The second time around I used whole milk and left the white chocolate chips whole.  I was nervous to bake the cupcakes but in the end they turned out great.   They rose just to the top of the cups which is actually perfect for the decorating technique I was using.

I mixed up a batch of vanilla buttercream frosting and divided it into two bowls.  One bowl I left white and the other I colored red.   I piped a ring around the outer edge of the cupcakes in white and then dipped the cupcakes into holiday sprinkles so that the sprinkles were only around the outer edge.

Then I filled a piping bag with the red frosting and used a star tip to make a swirl in the center of the cupcake.  I love the way they turned out!  It’s such a simple decorating technique but it really is stunning.

You can simply leave the cupcakes like that or put a topper on them.  I had all different kinds of candy holiday toppers and put a different one on each cupcake.   I also just sprinkled a few dried cranberries on a few of the cupcakes as well but you can decorate them any way you’d like!

Pro Tips and Substitutions:

• Do not overfill the cupcake liners.   While this recipe is supposed to make a dozen cupcakes, I ended up filling 15 cupcake liners which worked out perfectly.
• If you prefer dark chocolate to white chocolate substitute dark chocolate chips as they pair wonderfully with dried cranberries as well.
• You don’t have to use the decorating technique that I used.   If you want a simple idea just spread frosting on top of the cupcakes and cover in sprinkles.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes

Spiced Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes take rich vanilla cupcakes spiced with nutmeg and studded with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries and top them off with fluffy vanilla frosting.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes minutes

Total Time: 37 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 dozen

Calories: 388kcal

Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 c. butter 1 stick
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries
• 1/2 c. white chocolate chips

For the frosting:

• 4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 c. 2 sticks butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking power, and salt. Mix well.
• In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and mix well. Add in the eggs and stir to combine. Beat in the vanilla.
• Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Add the milk and stir until blended. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.
• Divide the batter between the muffin cups filling each one about 3/4 of the way full.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
• To make the frosting beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar a half cup at a time until the frosting is fluffy and smooth.
• Add the milk and vanilla and beat until combined.
• Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, candies, or dried cranberries.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 235mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g

More Cranberry Recipes:

• Baked Cranberry & White Cheddar Dip by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Broccoli Salad with Almonds and Cranberries by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Cranberry Cinnamon Snack Mix by Sweet Beginnings
• Cranberry Focaccia by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Cranberry Ginger Tea by Magical Ingredients
• Cranberry Moscow Mule by Our Crafty Cocktails
• Cranberry Sausage Balls by Palatable Pastime
• Cranberry White Chocolate Cupcakes by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Cranberry Whiskey Sour by Family Around the Table