The moral of the story behind Rudolph is that no matter how different you are from others, you are always special in your own way! Robert May had written this tale in 1939 and our favourite Reindeer has since then became a classic figure of Christmas folklore. I’ve always loved Rudolph because he is a wonderful reminder that we can always find strength in our uniqueness.

Another reason is that Rudolph is family to me! For many who do not know, my middle name is Fawn! Yes, I’m a baby deer. Oh yes, and Rudolph may actually be FEMALE. That’s right! Only female reindeers retain their antlers during Christmas while male reindeers would have shed their antlers by then. Male reindeers use their antlers to fight during their mating season in autumn and discard them after to conserve energy for the winter. In the case of female reindeers, they use their antlers during the cold season to dig through snow and shed them by springtime. It is interesting to discover that both sexes have different antler cycles!

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcake recipe adapted from Joy of Baking. Makes 10-12 cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk

Reindeer Ingredients. (9 reindeers)

• 18 black chocolate chips
• 18 white chocolate chips
• 18 pretzels
• 9 mini oreo cakesters
• red licorice
• chocolate frosting / nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the lemon zest, flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 17 – 20 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Always check a few minutes before the stated baking time. Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Can you name the other 8 reindeers??

They are.… Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen!

As you can see I only made 7 though.. tee-hee..

Reindeer body parts….

Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting / nutella on top of the cupcakes

Eyes: White and milk chocolate chips

Nose: Gumball for Rudolph and chocolate chips for others, attached with frosting / icing on top of half a slice of mini Oreo Cakester

Sleigh: Use red licorice fastened with frosting to connect each reindeer as shown in picture.

I absolutely adore Rudolph! 😀

Behind the celebrated figure lies a very touching story of Rudolf’s creator. I was reading a version of Robert May’s history here, and it almost brought me to tears. A loving father and husband who has always somewhat been a misfit in his communities, Robert struggled with a dying wife and his differences, his “inadequacies”. He created Rudolph to communicate to his family that “even though some creatures of God are strange and different, they often enjoy the miraculous power to make others happy.”

I find it such a beautiful Christmas message to share with others. Remember that we can always find strength in our differences! Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! Cheers!!