Looking for a last-minute dessert idea for Christmas? Something to delight kids and adults alike? Santa Hat Cupcakes are here to save your sanity and your dinner party!

These charming cupcake toppers are fast and easy to make, but they’re so adorable, people will think you’re a culinary genius. You can even enlist the kids to help you assemble them! You need just a few ingredients and about 15 minutes to make these Santa Hats, and they can be made in advance and kept for days (or weeks!) until you’re actually ready to use them.

To really drive home the Santa theme, I found these cute Santa’s belt cupcake wrappers at Michael’s craft store–aren’t they perfect?! I chose to use red velvet cupcakes, and vanilla frosting topped with sparkling white sugar crystals to complete the red-and-white theme, but you can use your favorite cupcake and frosting recipe.

You can even use these hats on a larger cake–for instance, place them in a circle around the top, so each cake slice has an individual hat. However you choose to use them, they’re sure to brighten your holiday dessert table. Ready to get going? Here’s what you’ll need:

Santa Hat Cupcakes
yield: 12 cupcakes 

Using a sharp serrated knife, gently saw through the waffle cones. If you’re making standard-size cupcakes, give yourself about 2 1/2-3 inches for a Santa Hat, and if you’re making Mini Cupcakes, keep it closer to 2 inches or a little under, so the hats will be proportional to the cupcakes. Don’t worry if the bottoms aren’t completely even–after dipping them in the red coating and sprinkles, all the little imperfections will disappear.

Cut the mini marshmallows in half, leaving you with 12 marshmallow halves.

Place the red Melting Chocolate Wafers in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until melted and smooth, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating.

Cover a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment. Submerge one of the waffle cone tips in the red coating, and push it down so it’s completely covered.

Use a wooden skewer to fish it out of the coating and hold it over the bowl until all the excess drips back down into the bowl.

Transfer the dipped cone to the baking sheet—you can use a fingertip on top the cone to make the process more stable, if you need to. Press a mini marshmallow firmly on top of the cone. Repeat the process until all of the cones are dipped and have a marshmallow topper. Refrigerate the tray briefly to set the cones, for about 10 minutes.

Re-warm the red coating, if necessary. Put the White Nonpareils or sparkling sugar in a small bowl. Dip the bottom of a cone into the coating, coming about 1/4-inch up from the bottom, then press the bottom of the cone into the white nonpareils.

Put the santa hat back onto the baking sheet and repeat until the rest of the hats have the white sprinkles on the bottom.

Store the Santa Hats in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use. Pop them on top of cupcakes, mini cupcakes, or even a full-sized cake!

All text and images (c) Elizabeth LaBau