Prepare cupcakes per box directions for cupakes. Note, only fill each liner about half way with the cake batter to allow for rising! Cool thoroughly before frosting. Chill the frosting in the tubs in the fridge while the cupcakes are baking and cooling. (A cool room to work in is also helpful in getting the details of this design to keep form and detail! Don't do this next to your running oven or dishwasher!)
Remove the first tub of frosting from the fridge and color one quarter of it with the super red gel coloring for the hats. The other three quarters of this tub will be for skin colors, I divided it into three different skin tones. Lightest tone I used mostly the ivory gel with less than one drop of the soft pink gel which I added with a toothpick. Middle skin tone I used mostly the ivory gel with one drop of the chocolate brown. Darkest skin tone I used only the chocolate brown gel. (You can experiment to get the colors you want but in my experience three gel colors that were surprisingly not helpful at all were peach, copper, and warm brown!)
Frost each cupcake with skin tone frosting about three quarters of the way up. Frost the top quarter of each cupcake with red for the hat.
Remove the second tub of frosting from the fridge, leave white. Fill a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe the hat fur and pom pom. Then pipe the beard and finally the mustache. (If the frosting is getting too warm from your hands just place it back in the fridge in the piping bag for five minutes.) Add white decorating sugar to the hat fur and pom pom.
Add an m&m nose. Apply the eyes with the black writing gel and a toothpick. The smallest amount is all that is needed so use a toothpick for sure. I noticed my gel had separated in the tube so it was helpful to squeeze some out into the sink before I started to get rid of the part that was too liquid.
Remember, they don't have to be perfect. The charm is in the details that make each Santa unique! Enjoy!
