Little Debbie Christmas Tree 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.

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.

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.

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.

Storing & Serving:

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.

Recipe Tips: Scroll up the blog post to see expert cupcake baking tips and frequently asked questions to make the most out of this recipe.

Note: Metric conversions and nutritional information are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.