Description
These Monster Cupcakes are a fun and festive Halloween treat featuring moist vanilla cupcakes topped with colorful, fluffy buttercream fur and decorated with candy eyes and Oreo cookie mouths. Perfect for parties and spooky celebrations, these cupcakes combine classic flavors with playful monster designs.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcakes
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Frosting and Decoration
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Gel food colors (red, orange, green)
- Oreos for decoration – 7-8 (large and small)
- Candy eyes – 30-35 pieces
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare liners: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking tray with cupcake liners; set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix well.
- Combine wet ingredients: In another bowl, beat together the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Make the batter: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches, mixing gently until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the cupcakes tender.
- Fill cupcake liners: Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner about three-quarters full with batter.
- Bake the cupcakes: Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes: Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the tray, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the frosting: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the softened butter until light and creamy. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar in batches, beating for 5-6 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Color the frosting: Divide the frosting into four equal parts. Tint three portions with green, orange, and red gel food colors respectively, leaving one portion white.
- Prepare Oreo decorations: Gently separate Oreos in halves and scrape off the cream filling to get two cookie halves from each Oreo. Cut single Oreo halves in half if needed for smaller pieces, keeping some pieces intact.
- Pipe the fur: Fit piping bags with grass tip nozzles and fill three bags with the colored frostings. Pipe “fur” starting from the edges of each cupcake and working toward the center to cover the top.
- Add candy eyes: Using tweezers, carefully place 1 to 3 or more candy eyes on each cupcake to create monster faces.
- Create mouths with Oreos: Position Oreo halves on the frosting for mouths, then pipe small dollops of white frosting around the edges to form teeth.
- Serve: Serve immediately and enjoy your spooky, fun Monster Cupcakes. Perfect for Halloween celebrations!
Notes
- Do not overmix the cupcake batter to keep the texture light and fluffy.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute with milk plus a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar, let sit for 5 minutes.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without thinning your frosting.
- Oreos can be gently broken into different sizes for creative monster mouths and features.
- Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 44 grams
- Sodium: 165 milligrams
- Fat: 7 grams
- Saturated Fat: 4 grams
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 grams
- Trans Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 61 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Protein: 2 grams
- Cholesterol: 29 milligrams
