Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cupcakes
These Little Debbie Christmas tree cupcakes taste just like the nostalgic holiday treat—soft vanilla cake filled with fluffy cream filling and topped with swirls of vanilla buttercream frosting. Finished with the classic red stripes and green sugar sprinkles, they’re a playful, homemade spin on everyone’s favorite childhood snack cake.
Whip out your mixing bowls and pop in your National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation VHS, because these Little Debbie Christmas tree cupcakes are bringing full-blown nostalgic holiday magic to your kitchen and holiday season.
They’re a totally rad twist on the nostalgic snack-cake classic—soft vanilla cupcakes stuffed with sweet cream filling, piled high with vanilla buttercream, and decked out in those iconic red stripes and green sugar sprinkles.
Best part? They’re super easy to make and even more fun to decorate, especially with “Last Christmas” blasting from your boombox. The perfect treat for a holiday party, baking weekend, or a delicious addition to your holiday dessert table!
If you want even more nostalgic holiday treats, check out my hot chocolate cupcakes, Little Debbie Christmas tree cookies, and Christmas frosted funfetti cookies.
How to Make Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cupcakes
Step 1: Make the cupcake batter. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream the sugar, butter, and vegetable oil. Add in the egg, sour cream and vanilla extract. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with milk and mix until the cupcake batter is smooth.
Step 2: Bake the cupcakes. Preheat the oven and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Portion the cupcake batter using a large cookie scoop and bake the cupcakes.
Step 3: Make the cream filling. Whip the butter, marshmallow fluff, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla.
Step 4: Make the frosting. Cream the butter. Add in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Whip the frosting until it is smooth and creamy. Tint a small portion of the frosting red.
Step 5: Assemble the cupcakes. Fill the cupcakes with the marshmallow cream filling. Frost the cupcakes with the white vanilla buttercream frosting. Sprinkle the cupcakes with green sanding sugar and then pipe swirls of red frosting.
Courtney’s Expert Cupcake Baking Tips
- Use a large cookie scoop to portion out the cupcake batter for even, uniform cupcakes.
- Use an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcakes before filling with the cream filling. Twist and insert the corer into the cupcake about ⅔ of the way down and then pull up to remove the cake.
- To easily fill the cupcakes, pipe the cream filling into the center of the cupcakes with a piping bag with the tip cut off.
- Use red gel food coloring for the most vibrant red color. If you want to deepen the color, heat the frosting in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. If the frosting is too melted, chill it in the refrigerator for a few minutes and mix until smooth.
- Check out my posts on tips for making the best cupcakes, best buttercream frosting, and my favorite cupcake baking supplies for even more helpful tips and tricks.
Frequently Asked Questions
These cupcakes have a very similar flavor to the classic Christmas tree cakes with the vanilla cake and marshmallow cream filling. There is no buttercream frosting on the snack cakes, so that adds another layer of flavor and texture.
For the cupcakes pictured, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to create the white buttercream swirl. To decorate the cupcakes, use green sanding sugar and a Wilton #5 piping tip to create the red stripes. I used Americolor gel food coloring in the color “red red” to tint the frosting.
If you don’t have an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcakes, you can use the bottom of a large piping tip or a paring knife to remove the center of the cupcake.
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Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp (1.5 tsp) baking powder
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 (1) large egg (room temperature)
- 2 tbsp (24 g) sour cream (room temperature)
- 3 tsp (3 tsp) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk (room temperature)
Cream Filling
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup (100 g) marshmallow fluff
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) heavy cream
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
Additional Ingredients
- ½ tsp (0.25 tsp) red gel food coloring
- 1 tbsp (7 g) green sanding sugar
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the granulated sugar, unsalted butter, and vegetable oil for a few minutes until light and creamy. Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Add in half of the flour mixture and mix until mostly combined. Then, pour in the milk and mix. Add the remaining half of the flour mixture and mix until the cupcake batter is combined and smooth.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop about ¾ full. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes or until the cupcakes bounces back when gently touched. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a medium mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and creamy. Add in the marshmallow fluff and mix until it is well incorporated with the butter. Add in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Whip the cream filling for a minute or two until it is light, smooth, and creamy. Set aside.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, whip the room temperature unsalted butter for 5 minutes until light, pale, and creamy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed until the sugar is combined with the butter. Add the remaining half of the powdered sugar and continue to mix on low speed until fully combined.
- Add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and whip the buttercream for about 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth and creamy. Mix on low speed for several minutes or mix by hand to remove any air pockets.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- First, tint some of the buttercream red. Remove about ⅓ cup of the vanilla buttercream from the mixing bowl and place it in a small mixing bowl. Add in the red gel food coloring and mix until well combined. Fill a small piping bag fitted with a Wilton #5 piping tip with the red frosting and set aside.
- Next, fill the cupcakes with the cream filling. Fill a piping bag with the tip cut off with the cream filling. Use an apple corer, piping tip, paring knife, or cupcake corer to remove the center of the vanilla cupcake. Fill the cupcake with the cream filling.
- Fill a large piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with the white vanilla buttercream frosting. Pipe a generous swirl of frosting onto the filled cupcakes.
- Sprinkle the green sanding sugar over the frosted cupcakes and then pipe a swirl of the red buttercream frosting around the white buttercream swirl.
Notes
- Room temperature: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day.
- Refrigerator: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
Nutrition
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About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
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