Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cupcakes [vegan + gluten-free option]
Delicious chocolate cupcakes decorated to the likeness of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer! The ULTIMATE holiday treat to make for your friends and family. Vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened.
? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Had a goji berry nose ? Or something like that…. ?
Who doesn’t love good ol’ Rudolph? He is arguably everyone’s favorite “holiday” character and I haven’t met a person who can’t sing at least a few lines from his famous jingle.
Today’s post is all about the fun and joy of the holiday season…with a little inspiration from Rudolph himself.
I am showing you how to take a boring old chocolate cupcake from this… 
To this… 
AKA the most fun DIY (and edible!) craft you can do with your family and friends this season.
With my fudgy vegan chocolate cupcake base, mini shortbread cookies & a goji berry for a nose, mini chocolate biscuits & chocolate chip eyes, and peanut butter covered pretzel antlers…you have the cutest Christmas cupcake around.
Check out the full recipe below and get ready to WOW your family and friends with this Christmas themed treat. ? 
PrintRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 7 cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
Scale
- For cupcakes:
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- For decorations:
- vegan chocolate frosting
- mini shortbread cookies
- small graham cracker sticks or mini chocolate biscuits
- regular sized chocolate chips
- vegan peanut butter or chocolate covered pretzels
- goji berries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine the dates and water in a food processor or blender.
- Blend till smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, vanilla powder, and milk.
- Process to combine.
- Pour batter into a medium mixing bowl and fold in chocolate chips. Mix until evenly combined.
- Divide the batter into 7 aluminum muffin tins.
- Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F, or until a knife comes out cleanly from the middle of the muffins.
- Cool muffins for about 5 minutes.
- Frost cupcakes once cool and assemble the Rudolph face with a mini shortbread cookie for the nose, two mini chocolate biscuits as the eyes, and two peanut butter covered pretzels as the antlers. Finish the cupcakes by adding a small dot of frosting on the nose so that a goji berry with stick and doing the same on the two biscuit eyes so the chocolate chips will stick.
Notes
The cupcakes themselves are gluten-free…the toppings may not be.
These cupcakes are super easy to make, vegan, gluten-free, and date-sweetened. You could make this edible craft even easier by buying vegan cupcakes at the grocery store or local bakery.
For those of you wondering what products I used to keep these cupcakes fully vegan, here are a few options for the decorations:
Eyes: Mini Chocolate Belvita Bites plus vegan chocolate chips Nose: Home Free Organic Gluten-Free Vanilla Mini Cookies or Partake Foods Mini Crunchy Cookies or Enjoy Life Mini Vanilla Crunchy Cookies plus Goji Berries Antlers: vegan Chocolate Covered Pretzels Frosting: Simple Mills Vegan & Gluten-Free Chocolate Frosting or Miss Jones Baking Organic Vegan Buttercream 
[Tweet “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cupcakes #vegan #glutenfree #christmascupcakes”]
Have you ever made Christmas cupcakes? What is your favorite thing to bake during the holiday season?Talk soon,
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These are really cute! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner Party. Have a wonderful week!
Thanks Helen!! Enjoy.
Your Red Nosed Reindeer Cupcakes are just adorable and delicious! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
Thanks Miz Helen!! Hope you try them!! :)
So cute!!
Thanks Amy!! :)