Easy Valentines Day Hugs & Kisses Cupcakes Recipe

Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. That means I’ll have to make rounds of treats for everyone.  Because I like to make things as easy on myself as possible, I whipped up a batch of these easy Valentines Day Cupcakes using packaged ingredients I jazzed up a little to taste homemade. Semi-homemade is just as good, right?  I filled the cupcakes with hugs and kisses candies before baking to give them a creamy chocolate center.  I knew my daughter would want to snack on these cupcakes, even though I thought they were almost too pretty to eat, so I’ve also included a gluten free version.
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I started with a boxed cake mix, prepared with the usual eggs, water and butter, then added a teaspoon of almond extract and some sour cream. (For a gluten free version, follow the same steps but use a gluten free cake mix.)
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After mixing up the batter, I poured the batter into cupcake tins. Helpful hint: Only feel the cupcake liner half full. This allows the cupcakes to bake to the top of the liner, but not over, making them easier to frost.  Once I had filled the cupcake liners, I added one (unwrapped) kiss or hugs candy to the center of each.
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Bake the cupcakes as normal as directed on the cake mix package. When they are done, remove them from the cupcake tin and allow them to cool completely.  In the meantime, make the icing. I had planned to use my homemade buttercream frosting recipe,  but was in a hurry. I used a container of whipped vanilla frosting instead. (To make this gluten free, just use a container of gluten free icing.)  I divided the icing into three bowls and used red food paste gel (like Wilton) to tint one bowl red and one bowl pink. I left one bowl as white frosting.
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I used a pastry bag to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, but you can certainly just use a knife or spatula. Frost the cupcake with the red icing, making sure to completely cover the top of the cupcake. One top of this, add a layer of light pink frosting. Top with a swirl of white frosting.  I added a few candy toppings to my cupcakes to make them stand out, but that’s totally optional. If you want to add directions, I suggest pink jumbo confetti sprinkles (I used Wilton) and the white pearl shimmer sixlets.

Easy Valentines Day Hugs & Kisses Cupcakes Recipe
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • For cupcakes
  • 1 box butter cake mix (or gluten free vanilla cake mix)
  • eggs, butter and water as directed on package of cake mix
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • For Filling
  • 24 assorted hugs and kissed candy, unwrapped
  • For Icing
  • 1 container (16 ounce) buttercream whipped frosting (for gluten free, use one container gluten free icing)
  • red paste food gel
  • Decorations: (optional)
  • white sixlets
  • pink confetti sprinkles
Instructions
  1. Prepare cake mix as decorated on package. Add sour cream and extract and blend well. Fill cupcake tins half full of batter. Insert a hug or kiss into the center of each cupcake liner. Bake as directed on package.
  2. Once cupcakes are done, remove from tin and allow to cool completely. Divide frosting into three bowls. Add red paste gel to 2 bowls, dying one pink and one red. Begin by frosting cupcake with red icing. Top with pink icing and then add a swirl of white icing. Decorate with confetti sprinkles and sixlets, if desired.

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For more Valentine’s Day ideas, visit a few of my favorite bloggers:

54 Comments

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  4. These are so cute! Thanks for showing steps. I love dessert posts that do this because I am a newbie at thinking outside the box and this helps a lot 🙂

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  6. These are such festive cupcakes! I love the colors, especially for a party

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  8. These do look yummy. Now I want to make cupcakes.

  9. I love putting candy in cupcakes. Making the icing is such a great idea too using food coloring to make several icings.

  10. Such a cute idea! I love those hershey hugs and kisses, bet they taste amazing inside of a cupcake

  11. I am starting to get excited about Valentine’s Day. Can’t wait to celebrate.

  12. These are really cute! They would make the perfect treat for hubby for Valentine’s Day!

  13. Those looks absolutely yummy. I like that you added sour cream. Gives it a unique flavor as well as make it more moist.

  14. These look so festive and so delicious! I love the little surprise int he middle. Genius.

  15. Valentines Day is my ultimate favorite holiday! These cupcakes are the cutest!

  16. These cupcakes look so delicious and easy to make. My kids are going to love them. I will have to make them this weekend.

  17. These are so cute and pretty. I would have to be careful, I would sneak more than my fair share.

  18. You did a great job designing your post here – I love the recipe and the pictures.
    You are correct – V-day will be here before we know it. Thank you for the idea – yummy!

  19. Those are too pretty to eat. I would love to try your recipe.

  20. Those look so wonderful! I can’t believe that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.

  21. Those are so pretty! I am a huge cupcake fan!

  22. I haven’t been baking quite as much the past few weeks. Maybe I burned myself out over the holidays. These look so yummy I think I need to get myself back to the oven!

  23. What a nice little surprise to put the kiss in the cake! I may make these for my kids this Valentine’s Day. They are so cute!

  24. These are so pretty! They look like they are decorated with jewelry almost. A great Valentine’s treat.

  25. These are so cute. I am going to make some for the family this Valentine’s Day.

  26. Those look so adorable! I want to make these with my kids!

  27. What a delightfully yummy Valentine’s Day cupcake recipe. The kisses candy is definitely a magic find. We’re on a serious diet here, but I will make smaller cupcakes and give a bunch away so we can enjoy a special treat on Feb 14th.

  28. This looks yummy and sweet. Ladies will love these. I am thinking to prepare this for snacks.

  29. Those are so pretty–they would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day Party or to bring to a party as a hostess gift!

  30. Yummy. This looks like such an amazing treat to make with the girls.

  31. Well these are just too cute. I’ve been trying to think of something fun to make for Valentine’s Day. I may have to try these!

  32. What a cute and easy idea for Valentine’s Day! And love that touch of chocolate.

  33. These look tasty! I love the hidden candy.

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  35. These are adorable and look delicious! I would love to make these for my son’s preschool class.

  36. Awe these are so pretty! These would be great to make for my kids homeschool Valentine’s Day party!

  37. These look so pretty and the special treat inside must be such a surprise! My daughter would love these!

  38. These cupcakes are so cute and they look yummy. I will have to make some to take into work.

  39. The Kiss or Hug in the middle of these cupcakes would be a pleasant surprise! I love how you decorated them with red, pink and white…so festive.

  40. This the best Valentines day treat I’ve ever seen! I love the Kiss in the middle. Yum!

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  43. Those look so delicious. I love the idea of putting a little Hershey Kiss inside the cupcake, what a fun surprise!

  44. Wow I have not even started thinking about Valentines yet, but these cupcakes sure are adorable!

  45. I love the little surprise in the middle! These sound so yummy!

  46. How cute! The kids would definitely enjoy these!

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