Three Cute & Easy Halloween Cupcakes

How to make super cute and easy cupcakes for Halloween!

My heart aches for and goes out to all of those affected by the shootings this week. I wish there was more I could say or a way to reach out and give hugs to all of you. But all I can do, and will continue to do, from my small corner of the internet is try to make the world a little happier by spreading sweetness in the best way I know how…

I have been anxiously awaiting October with baited breath for the express purpose of posting these cupcakes! As my children get older, I’ve found myself more and more entrenched in the world of making food look fun.

It’s never particularly been my forte in the past, but kids have a funny way of broadening your interests ????.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to this sweet little trio of monstrously spooky (and simple) cupcakes!

Starting with my personal favorite, mostly because he’s purple…

And he’s kinda cute, right?

This guy is the least easy to make. But only because using the grass tip (I used this one by Wilton) cramps up my hand a bit. There’s no way around that. But the process is quick and easy, and I think well worth the results.

Plus, I highly recommend using one of Pillsbury’s Funfetti Bold Vanilla Frostings for this cupcake. For one, you can get all sorts of fun, bright colors ready-made and perfect for Halloween. For two, it’ll give your hands a break to pipe out canned frosting instead of homemade buttercream which is a little stiffer.

Once the “hair” is piped all over this little monster, simply attach candy eyes to miniature marshmallows with a dab of frosting and use a toothpick to attach them to the cupcake. You could even add more than two eyes– or just one giant eye!

This mummy cupcake will always and forever be my go-to Halloween cupcake. Here’s why…

???? It’s by far and away the simplest cupcake design on the planet. You don’t even really need a piping tip for this, even though I used one. You could feasibly just snip the corner of a bag and pipe on frosting that way. Just a few sloppy stripes, and voila! Spooky!

???? You can easily sub canned frosting for homemade buttercream without a hitch. Oftentimes, when piping decorative cakes and cupcakes, you need a stiff buttercream that will hold it’s shape. Not so for this mummy. While I do love a good buttercream and it certainly has it’s place here on Something Swanky, I appreciate the time and mess canned frosting spares me too much to ever turn my nose up at it!

???? Despite how overly simplistic this cupcake may be… how cute?! Right??

Last, but not least– I adore these Black Widow Spider Cupcakes. A simple swirl of vanilla, a smattering of Halloween sprinkles, and these positively delicious candy spiders made from black melting chocolate and Cookies & SCREAM M&Ms.

You can get more deets (plus a video) on these cupcakes and how to make the spiders ???????????? over on Keat’s Eats. I posted the recipe over there when I was feeling a little overeager for Halloween last month.

Below you’ll find the recipe to my favorite vanilla cupcakes and vanilla buttercream (but feel free to sub out any flavored cupcakes you’d like for these, it doesn’t matter!). I used these vanilla cupcakes as the base for all of these, and I used the homemade buttercream for the spider cupcakes. However I used canned frosting for both the mummy and the hairy googly eyed monster.

You can find recommendations for piping tools, sprinkles, and candy in the notes section.

Happy October!

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3 Quick & Easy Halloween Cupcakes

Yield: 2 dozen

How to make super cute and easy cupcakes for Halloween!

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Ingredients

For the Vanilla Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 - 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1-1/4 cups milk

For the Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla

Instructions

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between each addition.
2. Add the vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk. Mix just until batter forms.
3. Line or grease 2 cupcake pans and divide batter evenly among the cups.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. In a stand mixer, whisk together the butter and the shortening, scraping down the sides as needed, until smooth and blended.
2. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla, whisk until smooth.
3. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp milk, whisk until smooth.
4. Repeat with remaining powdered sugar and milk, scraping down the sides as needed.

Notes

For the Hairy Monster Cupcakes:

• Wilton Grass Tip (Michaels)
• Wilton Candy Eyes (Target or Michaels)
• Toothpicks
• Pillsbury Funfetti Bold Purple (Target)

For the Mummy:

• Wilton Candy Eyes (Target or Michaels)
• Canned vanilla frosting
• Wilton #10 round piping tip   (Michaels)

For the Spiders:

View all the details for this cupcake on Keat's Eats