FamilyFun Holiday Challenge: Day 21 Rudolph and Friends S'more Cupcakes

FamilyFun's Rudolph and Friends are the Treat of the Month in the Dec/Jan 2011 issue. I knew the instant I saw them that they would be a big hit at our house because they combine two beloved things...cupcakes and Rudolph! I upped the ante a little by making them s'more cupcakes!

First, you put roughly a tablespoon of coarsely crushed graham crackers in the bottom of your cupcake liners. Then fill the liners 2/3 of the way (I used approximately 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake) with your favorite chocolate cupcake batter and bake. Remove from oven and cool.

For the filling you will need 1 jar (7.5 ounce) of marshmallow creme and 1/2 cup unsalted room temperature butter (1 cube).  Mix marshmallow creme and butter together until smooth. Put creme in a piping bag with a round decorating tip (I used Wilton tip 12). Push tip down into the center of the cupcake and squeeze filling into cupcake. Cupcakes will puff out slightly as you fill them.

After filling cupcakes, frost them with your favorite chocolate frosting and follow FamilyFun's instructions for decorating Rudolph and Friends.

I couldn't find the right size of pretzels at the grocery store so I ended up using 2 Flipz Milk Chocolate pretzels for each reindeer. For Rudolph's red-nose I used red gumdrops that we already had. The eyes were made with mini marshmallows and black decorating gel.

These 5 five finger rated cupcakes were fun and delicious!  The kids devoured theirs and we shared some with our neighbors (along with Festive Fudge and Chocolate Chip-Pumpkin Loaf).

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