These adorable Halloween owl cupcakes with Oreos are easy to put together and so much fun to decorate with kids. A hit every single time!
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I have been making these owl cupcakes every year for Halloween for over a decade now, and I can’t believe I still haven’t shared the recipe with you. A few years ago, I even volunteered to make them as a little Halloween baking project at my daughter’s daycare with very young children from 3-year-old and up. No matter the age, all kids LOVE baking these yummy and not-too-scary chocolate Halloween cupcakes!
These owl cupcake also make a super fun cupcake decorating project for any fall gathering celebration or for a child’s birthday party year-round. Learn how to make them from scratch, and please take a minute to read my useful tips for success!
Owl Cupcakes, in short:
- A super fun kid’s decorating cupcake project
- Perfect for Halloween, a child’s birthday party, and more!
- Too cute not to eat: chocolate lovers will devour them!
What goes into these owl cupcakes?
The recipe comes in 3 parts: the chocolate cupcakes, the chocolate icing, and the owl decoration items.
For the chocolate cupcakes. No cupcake mix for this recipe but instead some real ingredients to prepare them from scratch. You will need unsweetened cocoa powder, flour and baking powder for the dry ingredients. The wet ingredients consist in eggs, sugar (although not a “wet” ingredient technically), yogurt, vegetable oil, but also brewed coffee to enhance the chocolate flavors and some boiling water.
Chocolate icing. Note here that I chose to use a chocolate icing (chocolate and butter) instead of a chocolate frosting (also involving a great quantity of confectioners’ sugar). Chocolate iced cupcakes are thinner, glossier, and not as sweet as their chocolate frosting counterparts.
For the owl cupcake decorations. You need a package of double-cream Oreo cookies, 16 black or brown m&m’s candies (or “smarties” depending on how you call them) for the eyes and 8 orange ones for the beaks.
How to prepare owl cupcakes
Find below the main steps to keep in mind when making these owl cupcakes. For the detailed recipe instructions, head over to the recipe card further below.
- Bake the chocolate cupcakes and allow to cool. Remember not to fill the muffins liner up to the top before baking to ensure they remain flat on top. If they come out with a little dome on top anyway, simply cut off the domed part before spreading the icing over the cupcakes.
- Top with the simple chocolate icing, consisting of chocolate and butter only. No confectioners’ sugar, which makes them less “sweet” than cupcakes topped with a classic chocolate frosting.
- Prepare the owl decoration items. Prepare the Oreo cookies, twisting them to separate the cream-filled parts from the plain ones. Snap the plain cookies in half to create the eyebrows. Select your m&m’s (smarties), choosing some brown/black ones for the eyes and some orange ones for the beaks.
- Now decorate your owl cupcakes, by placing the cream-filled Oreo halves for the eyes, the broken plain cookie parts for the eyebrows, the brown m&m’s for the pupils, and the orange ones for the beaks. Serve, and enjoy!
Useful tips for success
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating. If they’re still warm, the icing will melt instantly and it will become messy.
- Prepare all the Owl decoration items ahead. Twist the Oreo cookies, and separate the cream-filled ones from the others. I also like to snap the plain Oreos in half to create the eyebrows in advance. Also, select and count the orange and brown m&m’s you will need (or smarties if you’re un Canada or UK) for the eyes and beak.
- Use double cream Oreos. With the double cream Oreos, you have more chance to have a whole cream-filled cookie when twisting them. It usually doesn’t come in one piece with regular Oreos.
- Make sure you work with a flat-top cupcakes. If your cupcakes have domed a little bit while baking (if the muffin liners were filled up to the top for instance), gently cut off the domed top with a serrated knife to ensure you work with a flat surface. This will ensure the Oreo eyes stay in place.
- Decorate right after the chocolate icing. Because we use a simple chocolate icing (thin and glossy) and not a chocolate frosting (fluffier) in this recipe, it’s important you decorate the cupcakes right away so they stay in place nicely.
- Adapt the recipe depending on the kid’s age. If working with young kids, bake all the cupcakes in advance and have everything ready for each kid: a set of eyes, two m&m’s for the eyes, one for the beak, and two pieces broken Oreos for the eyebrows. You can involve the older kids in the earlier steps of the recipe, baking the chocolate cupcake from scratch!
Possible variations
- Use golden Oreo cookies to create some friends to your chocolate owl cupcakes, and top them with a cream cheese frosting to keep them golden and white in colors.
- Top with a chocolate frosting if desired. I chose a simple chocolate icing for a quicker, easier version of these owl cupcakes. But you can definitely top with a fluffy chocolate frosting instead.
Make-ahead instructions
You can make these owl cupcakes up to a couple of days in advance and store in an airtight container. However, please wait until a few hours before you serve them to add the chocolate icing and owl decorations. If you add the Oreo cookies too soon, they will loose their crispiness and the owl cupcakes won’t taste as good as they are supposed to.
More Halloween ideas!
- Jack-O’- Lantern Vegetarian Pot Pie
- Halloween Grazing Board
- Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Haunted House Chocolate Cake
- Homemade Cake Pops
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Halloween Owl Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Muffins
These adorable Halloween owl cupcakes with Oreos are easy to put together and so much fun to decorate with kids. A hit every single time!
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Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes:
- 2 medium eggs
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- ¼ cup (60g) plain yogurt, full-fat
- ¼ cup (60 ml) canola oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons brewed coffee
- 1 Tablespoon boiling water
For decoration:
- 3.5 ounces (100g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 16 chocolate Oreo sandwich cookies (double cream preferred)
- 16 brown or black M&M’s (chocolate smarties), for the eyes
- 8 orange M&M’s (chocolate smarties), for the beaks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- For the cupcakes. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until creamy. Add yogurt, canola oil, vanilla, and whisk until combined. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Incorporate the dry ingredients in two or three additions, whisking well between each addition. Add brewed coffee and boiling water, and whisk well.
- Scoop the batter into the muffin liners, filling up to ⅔ cup full*, and bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.**
- For the chocolate icing. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds or so. Add the softened butter and stir until combined. Generously spread the chocolate icing over the cupcakes.
- For decoration. Twist the Oreo cookies in half, and separate the halves with and without the cream filling. To create the owl eyes, gently place two cream-filled halves into each cupcake, with the filling sides facing up. Snap the remaining plain Oreo cookies in half and place them over the eyes to create the eyebrows, angling them so they stick up for a wide-eyed look. Gently press a brown or black m&m’s into the center of each eye, and an orange one in between the Oreo eyes to create the beak. And voilà!
Notes
* It’s imperative to fill only halfway and up to ⅔ full max (not more!) to avoid spilling over the sides.
** You want a cupcake top as flat as possible, or the eyes will fall on the side when you’ll try to stick them to the chocolate icing later on. If your cupcakes domed a little bit when baking (I experienced it, depending on the baking powder I use), gently cut off the top part to flatten them out before spreading the frosting over. I promise no one will notice and it will make your work much easier when decorating the owl cupcakes.
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Halloween Owl Cupcakes, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
