MAKES 12 CUPCAKES • PREP: 40 MIN • BAKE: 20 TO 25 MIN
BATTER
¾ stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp each baking powder and
baking soda
¼ tsp each ground cloves and allspice
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg
cup reduced-fat sour cream
cup light molasses
1 cups all-purpose flour
FROSTING
1 cup white chocolate chips
1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup cold reduced-fat sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Holly Leaf Cookies (directions follow)
Holly berries: 36 red hot cinnamon candies or other small, round, red candies
1 Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12 regular size (2½-in. diameter) muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
2 Batter: Beat butter, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, allspice and salt in a large bowl with mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy and lighter in color. On low speed, add egg, sour cream and molasses; beat until well blended (batter will look curdled). Beat in flour until just blended. Spoon evenly into lined cups.
3 Bake 20 to 25 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
4 Frosting: Melt chips as directed on package. Scrape into a large bowl; cool slightly. Add butter and beat with mixer on medium until blended and smooth. Add remaining ingredients; beat on low speed until blended. Increase speed to high; beat about 5 minutes until thick and fluffy (if frosting doesn’t thicken, chill 5 minutes and beat again). Pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until frosting is firm.
5 To serve: Press 3 Holly Leaf Cookies and Holly berries on each cupcake.
PER CUPCAKE (without leaf cookies and berries): 461 cal, 3 g pro, 60 g car, 0 g fiber, 25 g fat (16 g saturated fat), 68 mg chol, 168 mg sod
Planning tip: Cupcakes can be frosted up to 3 days ahead. Refrigerate covered. Add cookies and candies no more than 3 hours before serving.
Holly Leaf Cookies
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter or margarine (not spread), softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
Green crystal sugar
1 Beat butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed 3 minutes or until fluffy. Beat in egg. On low speed, beat in flour just until blended. Shape dough into a disk. Wrap airtight; refrigerate 1½ hours or until firm.
2 Heat oven to 375°F. Have ready a 2 × 1-in. holly-leaf cookie cutter and green sanding (crystal) sugar (found in supermarkets or crafts stores).
3 On lightly floured wax paper with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out 1 disk dough to ¼ in. thick. Dipping cookie cutter in flour between cuts, cut out 36 holly leaves. Reroll and cut scraps.
4 Dip 1 side of each leaf into green sugar (if dough is too soft, refrigerate until more manageable). Place sugar side up, 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheet(s). Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly brown around edges. Cool on sheet(s) on a wire rack 5 minutes before removing cookies to rack to cool completely.
