Gluesticks Blog

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • DIY
  • About Me
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • DIY
    • About Me
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Easy Snow Globe Cupcakes (Using a Plastic Ornament!)

    November 29, 2023 By Brandy 4 Comments

    ↓ Jump to Recipe

    These adorable and easy snow globe cupcakes are delicious and so festive! Topped with plastic Christmas ornaments they are easy to make.

    You might also like our stacked snowman sugar cookies, our peppermint bark cups, or our Little Debbie-inspired tree sugar cookies!

    easy snow globe cupcakes

    Watch our step by step video!

    These snow globe cupcakes are so fun to make and easy, too! Most snow globe cupcakes involve making a sugar globe or gelatin-based globe. Not these ones. These are topped with a Christmas ornament, making them easy for anyone to make. I was inspired by a couple of reels that I saw on Facebook and knew I had to try making them too!

    3 snow globe cupcakes

    I made 24 cupcakes using a boxed cake mix and homemade vanilla buttercream. You can pipe the frosting or spread it onto the cupcakes, both ways work! I piped mine on then flattened the frosting by pressing each cupcake into the sprinkles. If you don't want the crunch of sprinkles you can definitely leave them off and simply spread each cupcake with white frosting.

    3 snow globe cupcakes

    Snow Globe Cupcake Decorations

    There are so many ways to decorate these. I decorated mine with white nonpareils, mini marshmallows, and snowflake sprinkles then added an edible icing topper.

    porcelain bowls filled with sprinkles

    You can find many cute packages of icing decorations at Walmart and Target. Just make sure that the ones you use are 1 ½" tall or less. Anything taller will be too tall and your dome won't fit. If you'd prefer to use your own decorations you can pipe buttercream trees or snowmen onto the cupcake.

    hand holding plastic ornament

    Snow Globe Cupcake Ornament Toppers

    There are several sizes of plastic ornaments. For regular cupcakes, you'll want ones that are 60mm in size, and can find them on Amazon. They open in half so one ornament will cover 2 cupcakes. Your cupcakes might puff up more than mine, leaving an edge that isn't covered by the dome. That's TOTALLY FINE and they'll still look adorable.

    hand placing plastic dome over cupcake

    Snow Globe Cupcake Ingredients

    Baked Cupcakes: store-bought or homemade. I used a boxed mix which made 24. If you don't want to make 24 cupcakes, you can freeze half to save for another day!

    Buttercream Frosting: you can find my recipe at the end of the post.

    Sprinkles, Nonpareils, and Mini Marshmallows: you can use whatever you'd like, but I think the nonpareils are cute and look like snow.

    Icing Toppers: these are pre-made and dried icing decorations that come in a variety of designs. I used mini trees, reindeer, and presents.

    cupcake with plastic ornament dome on top

    How To Make Snow Globe Cupcakes

    (watch my video for the best visual tutorial. It plays directly under the first image in the post)

    Bake up a batch of cupcakes and let them cool completely.

    vanilla buttercream piped onto cupcakes

    (These are the cute polka dot cupcake liners that I used.)

    Pipe or spread buttercream frosting onto the baked cupcakes. I used a round tip to pipe the buttercream onto mine.

    upside down cupcake in sprinkles

    Press each cupcake into sprinkles, if desired, to flatten the icing and give it a "snowy" look.

    hand placing candy reindeer on cupcake

    Arrange decorations onto them, pressing them into the frosting. Add mini marshmallows and snowflake sprinkles, if desired.

    plastic Christmas ornament on top of cupcake

    Cover each cupcake with half of a plastic ornament.

    red cake platter with cupcakes on top

    Easy Snow Globe Cupcakes

    red cake platter with cupcakes on top

    Easy Snow Globe Cupcakes (Using a Plastic Ornament)

    These adorable and easy snow globe cupcakes are delicious and so festive! Topped with plastic Christmas ornaments they are easy to make.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 16 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 36 minutes minutes
    Servings: 24 cupcakes
    Calories: 200kcal

    Equipment

    • 12 60mm (2.36") plastic ornaments (that open in half)

    Ingredients

    Cupcakes

    • 1 box cake mix plus water, eggs and oil according to package

    Butter Cream

    • 1 cup butter softened
    • 5-6 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 4 Tbsp. milk

    Toppings

    • holiday candies under 1 ½" tall
    • TINY white nonpareils sprinkles
    • mini marshmallows

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 35o degrees.
      Line a cupcake pan with liners.
    • Make cupcake batter according to the instructions on the box.
    • Divide batter between cupcake liners and bake 16-18 minutes.
    • Let cupcakes cool completely.
    • Beat frosting ingredients until fluffy and smooth.
    • Spread or pipe frosting onto cupcakes then press into white nonpareils sprinkles.
    • Press holiday candies into the cupcakes to decorate. Make sure the candy is less than 1 ½" tall. Pre-made icing decorations work well.
    • Open the plastic ornaments and wash them with warm water and soap. Dry.
      Top each cupcake with half of a plastic ornament.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 200kcal
    Share
    Pin

    More Dessert Recipes

    • tray of baked cookies on parchment paper
      Martha-Stewart-Fired-Me Cookies
    • frosted and unfrosted sugar cookies
      Old Fashioned Buttermilk Sugar Cookies
    • cookies on wire cooling rack
      Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • chocolate chip cookie on baking sheet
      Snoop Dogg's Rolls Royce Cookies

    About Brandy

    Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

    Comments

    1. carrie says

      December 01, 2024 at 1:47 pm

      these look so cute! can you tell me the size / or specific plastic ornament you used so I can get those?

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        December 01, 2024 at 10:16 pm

        I used these ones! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3H3CC1Q?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=homswehom0f-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=ebc032d7e356f831ed1f11b44469715e&camp=1789&creative=9325

        Reply
    2. Jen H. says

      November 29, 2023 at 12:48 pm

      5 stars
      I love this idea and I can't wait to make them for my family at Christmas! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        November 29, 2023 at 1:01 pm

        You're welcome! 🙂

        Reply
    5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Welcome!

    I'm Brandy! I love to create and share my ideas through easy-to-follow recipes and tutorials.

    More about me

    As an Amazon Associate, I make a small commission on qualifying purchases.

    sew with me kids sewing book
    My Book

    Latest Posts

    • jar of ranch dressing
      Homemade Ranch Dressing (Better Than Store-Bought!)
    • platter of onion rings
      Crispy Buttermilk Onion Rings
    • basket of pillow treats
      YW Camp Pillow Treat Tags (Free Printables!)
    • two summer camp printable tags with drink packets
      Summer Camp Flavored Water Printable Tags

    Seasonal

    • M&M Cookies piled on top of each other
      Soft M&M Cookies (Soft and Thick) + Video
    • red, white and blue shortbread cookies
      Patriotic Shortbread Cookies (Video)
    • star shaped cookie with frosting and fruit
      Red White & Blue Mini Fruit Pizzas (Video)
    • Simple and Inexpensive Patriotic Wreath Tutorial

    Footer

    ↑ Back to Top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Gluesticks Blog

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.