‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
From ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
(or A Visit from St. Nicholas) by Clement Clarke Moore (1823)
We participated in A Taste of the Holidays at
Habersham Winery this past Saturday and this was one of the tasty treats we had for the sampling at our table.
I called them Santa Bellies in ode to the classic Christmas poem ‘Twas the Night before Christmas.
Here’s what you need.
9 oz. jar Unicoi Preserves Chambourcin Spread
1 box yellow cake mix
Eggs
Cooking oil
Special equipment
Mini cupcake pan & liners
Pastry or plastic food storage bag for filling cupcakes
Pastry tip – Bismarck tip 230 (I had this but if you don’t, just snip the corner off a plastic bag)
Chopstick or other similar rounded device
Preheat oven as directed on the box, then prepare cake batter, also as directed on the box. I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to boost the flavor but you can skip this if you like.
Put the cupcake liners in your pan and fill 3/4 ways full. I used a small cookie scoop I had to fill the cupcake liners.
Bake until the cakes spring back or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, Mine took 12 minutes.
Cool on rack & repeat with remaining cake batter.
Mine made 48 bites, this could vary on how full you fill the pans and how drippy you are when filling them.
To fill your bites after cooling
Using the blunt end of the chopstick, poke a hole in the cupcake but not all the way to the bottom & wiggle it to make room for the Chamboucin Spread.
Spoon the jelly into your pastry bag or plastic bag & shoot each bite with jelly so some shows through the top.
These really stay nice and moist thanks to the jelly center.
If you make these, please post your pictures our Facebook and Instagram feed
#unicoipreserves
PS If you’ve been following us for a while, you may recognize these cupcakes from Halloween. They’re the same recipe as Vampire Bites The name has been changed to reflect the season!
