The white chocolate chips offer rich flavor to the batter, and the shavings on top evoke the snowy look of the season. You don’t have to use red foil cupcake liners, but they do add to the festive look of these treats.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, cook time: 20 minutes, servings: 12

Ingredients
Cupcakes
11/4 sticks (10 tablespoons)
unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra
for coating chips and cranberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons buttermilk, room temperature
2/3 cup white-chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Frosting
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
White chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler
Red sugar-coated candies
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, preferably red foil ones.
2. To make the cupcakes, in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add eggs, mixing well after each addition and occasionally scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add vanilla and mix again. In a medium bowl, sift together 11/3 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the egg mixture and mix 10 seconds. Add buttermilk and mix until smooth.
3. In a small bowl, toss white-chocolate chips and cranberries with about 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (which prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes while they’re baking). Stir the chips mixture into the cupcake batter. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared tin, filling cups about two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To prepare the frosting, put sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until the mixture reaches 140F on a candy thermometer. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the mixture has doubled in volume and forms stiff, glossy peaks, about 3 minutes. Gradually add butter to the cooled meringue, beating constantly, until smooth. Fold in the vanilla. Spread the frosting generously onto each cooled cupcake and top with white chocolate curls and a few candies.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

11/4 sticks (10 tablespoons)

unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

11/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra

for coating chips and cranberries

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons buttermilk, room temperature

2/3 cup white-chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Frosting

1 cup sugar

3 egg whites

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Red sugar-coated candies

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, preferably red foil ones.

2. To make the cupcakes, in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add eggs, mixing well after each addition and occasionally scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add vanilla and mix again. In a medium bowl, sift together 11/3 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the egg mixture and mix 10 seconds. Add buttermilk and mix until smooth.

3. In a small bowl, toss white-chocolate chips and cranberries with about 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (which prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes while they’re baking). Stir the chips mixture into the cupcake batter. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared tin, filling cups about two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

4. To prepare the frosting, put sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until the mixture reaches 140F on a candy thermometer. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the mixture has doubled in volume and forms stiff, glossy peaks, about 3 minutes. Gradually add butter to the cooled meringue, beating constantly, until smooth. Fold in the vanilla. Spread the frosting generously onto each cooled cupcake and top with white chocolate curls and a few candies.

Excerpted from Holiday Cupcakes, by Annie Rigg, published by Ryland Peters & Small, copyright © 2010.