I made these fun little cupcakes to take as gifts to friends this Christmas season. They are a fun, simple recipe that combines a good gingerbread cupcake recipe with a good shortbread recipe. They are even better together. Feel free to use either recipe as a good standalone (I love shortbread!).

Shortbread

3/4 lb. – Butter (3 sticks), chilled and cubed

1 tsp. – Rum extract

3 1/2 cups – All purpose flour

1 tsp. – Kosher salt

2 – Eggs

Cut the chilled butter, rum extract, flour, and salt using a food processor or pastry cutter (I just do it by hand with the pastry cutter) until the mixture starts to look like coarse sand. This recipe has a high butter ratio so it will be a bit of work to get it all mixed well, don’t worry if its perfect). Add the eggs and gently mix until just combined. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll dough on a lightly floured countertop until about 1/3 of an inch thick. Be careful not to overwork the dough, simply take a portion of the dough (I do this in thirds), place it in the flour, sprinkle more flour on top, and roll out to the correct thickness without ever folding. Using a 2 1/2” circle cookie cutter (about the size as the top of your cupcake), cut out circles, place on baking sheet (I line my baking sheets with a Silpat) and bake for 12-15 minutes or until they are just beginning brown. Let cool.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

1 cup – Sugar

10 Tbsp – Butter

1 Tbsp – Vanilla extract

1 Tbsp – Molasses

2 – Eggs

1 1/2 tsp – Ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp – Fresh ground nutmeg

1 tsp – Fresh minced ginger

2 tsp – Baking powder

cups – All purpose flour

1 tsp – Salt

1/3 cup – Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream by beating using the paddle for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla extract and beat for an additional minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated. In a separate bowl, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, salt, and all purpose flour. Mix and then add to the creamed butter mixture in the mixing bowl, and mix until well mixed. Add the buttermilk and beat until fluffy like frosty.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and add a small dollop of the batter in each cup. I use a 3 Tbsp. ice cream scooper to ensure consistency.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. package – Cream cheese, room temperature

8 Tbsp. – Butter (1 stick), room temperature

2 Tbsp. – Lemon juice

2 cups – Powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle for 2-3 minutes or until well mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Using the whisk attachment, whip until very stiff and fluffy, about 7 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

To Decorate

5 ounces – Dark chocolate

1 package – Red Hots or red M&Ms (or Smarties)

Melt and temper the chocolate by chopping 4 ounces of the chocolate (reserving a 1 ounce large chunk). Place the chocolate in a microwave proof bowl and heat on half power for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate and return to the microwave for 15 to 30 second increments, stirring each time, until the chocolate is just melted. Let cool to 100 degrees and then add the reserved block of chocolate and stir continually until the chocolate reaches 92 degrees. Pour all but the remnants of the tempering block into a small sandwich baggy (or pastry bag with fine tip) and cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe the chocolate on the shortbread cookies as seen in the pictures here, making antlers, eyes, and a small dollop for the nose. Press a Red Hot into the dollop for a red nose. Allow to cool and harden for at least ten minutes.

Place the frosting in a large piping bag (without tip) or a large plastic bag (cut a 1/2 inch hole in the corner) and pipe the frosting in a spiral on the top of the cupcakes. Press a cookie into the top of each one, allowing the frosting to press slightly out the sides.