Oh I just can’t get enough of these cute little gingerbread men!
They were easy to make and really topped off these gingerbread spiced cupcakes with lots of cuteness!
Gingerbread flavors are so yummy this time of year.
I added molasses and pumpkin pie spice to vanilla cake batter and also to frosting to create these delicious and cute cupcakes.
Gingerbread Spice Cupcakes with Gingerbread Spice Italian Buttercream Frosting, topped with Gingerbread toppers. These would warm up any dreary, cold and wet winter day!
Prepare a batch of Royal Icing, tint it brown.
- 2 pounds powdered sugar (each pound of powdered sugar is about 4.5 cups of powdered sugar)
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon meringue powder
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Mix powdered sugar and meringue powder on low for 1 minute until it's fully blended.
- Add water and extract and mix on low until it's mixed well.
- Then turn mixer on medium and beat until the icing is stiff, 8-10 minutes.
- Add water to thin to the consistency you need.
- You can store royal icing at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
- Whip it if it becomes separated.
I found a drawing of a gingerbread man, and copied it onto a piece of paper after having multiplied the image over and over. I had 16 on the paper. If I locate the file I used I will insert it here. I am having trouble with my computers hard drive and needless to say things aren’t going my way right now.
Place the paper under a sheet of parchment paper. Place the icing in a piping bag with a #2. Trace and fill in the image with the icing. If you need more, just slide the paper to a blank area of parchment and make more.
I made lots of them!
Once they were completely dry ( I let them dry overnight) I drew faces on them with an edible marker.
- 1 box french vanilla cake mix and ingredients to prepare
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- Prepare mix according to package directions adding to it the molasses and pumpkin pie spice.
- Bake and cool cupcakes.
I think of that some every time I looked at these… You know the one. Run, run, as fast as you can. Well apparently they didn’t run fast enough and got stuck in the frosting. Which by the way is a pretty good place to get stuck in, right… it’s beats being stuck in mud!
Cristina says
Diane: Luv these little gingerbread men!! So cute. 🙂
Roxanne says
Thank You for sharing. I will certainly be making some of these for the cold winter nights. They will be perfect with a nice warm cup of cocoa, topped with whipped cream of course. Yum!!!
Joni says
The frosting sounds so good. Those little guys are so sweet! Joni
alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
These are Too cute!
JulieD says
aww i love these, Diane!!
Kathy - Panini Happy says
Those little toppers are just adorable!
Blueberry Muffin Bakery says
love the gingerbread toppers! great idea!
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
So so so cute! They look great! But how did you resist eating all of the buttercream frosting?
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says
I thought they were actual tiny cookies–how clever!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
I love those little guys 🙂
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I love all your gingerbread recipes! I wish I could pipe frosting like that–it looks so darn perfect!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Adorable little gingerbread men!
Shannon says
How any cupcakes does this recipe make? And is the icing recipe enough to match, or does it make extra?
Diane says
a typical box of cupcake mix makes 24 cupcakes, so it will yield a bit depending on how full you fill them. The frosting will make enough to generously frost the cupcakes as I have. If you don’t swirl it on as much as I did, you will have leftover. I think the amount of frosting is a good amount for 24 cupcakes.