Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners, then lightly spray the top of the pan around the liners with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, Dutch process cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Break the egg yolk with the whisk, then whisk everything together until the batter is smooth and well blended.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 19–23 minutes, or until the cupcakes are cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before frosting.
Prepare the Halloween Decorations
- For the cat ears, carefully separate Oreo cookies, remove the filling, and cut some cookie halves into larger triangular or rectangular pieces for the ears.
- For the bat wings, remove the filling from Oreo halves and cut the cookies into half-moon shapes.
- Use an edible black marker to draw eyes or other desired designs on the green M&M's.
- For the jack-o'-lantern faces, cut filling-free Oreo cookies into small pieces for the eyes and nose. Save curved edge scraps to form the pumpkin mouths.
Make the Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to combine the powdered sugar, softened butter, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. For orange-flavored frosting, use the zest of 2 oranges plus 1/2 teaspoon orange extract instead of the vanilla.
- Mix until well combined, adding up to 1 additional tablespoon of heavy cream as needed to reach a smooth frosting consistency.
- Increase the mixer speed to high and whip the frosting for about 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add orange gel food coloring until the desired shade is reached.
- Set aside about 2 tablespoons of frosting in an airtight container for attaching the decorations.
- Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, such as Ateco 846. Pipe a single layer of frosting over each cooled cupcake. Alternatively, spread the frosting over the cupcakes with a spatula.
- Keep a small amount of frosting reserved to use as edible glue for the eyes, mouths, and other decorations.
Decorate the Cupcakes
- For cat cupcakes, place one Oreo cookie on top of the frosting. Tuck two cut Oreo pieces underneath the top edge of the cookie to form ears.
- Attach the green M&M eyes with small dots of frosting. Add an orange sprinkle for the nose or pipe a small nose with orange frosting.
- For bat cupcakes, place one Oreo cookie on the frosting and tuck two half-moon Oreo pieces underneath the sides to create wings.
- Attach the eyes with small dots of frosting, then use a sprinkle for the mouth or pipe the mouth with orange frosting.
- For jack-o'-lantern cupcakes, arrange two cut Oreo pieces for the eyes, a small triangular piece for the nose, and curved Oreo scraps to create a zigzag pumpkin mouth.
- Insert a small broken piece of pretzel stick into the frosting at the top of each pumpkin cupcake to create the stem.
- Arrange four green M&M's on their sides near the stem to create a leaf decoration.
Notes
This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
The total time is approximately 2 hours 20 minutes, including about 1 hour of cooling time.
Ateco 846 is the recommended star piping tip for the frosting.
Oreo bat wings are best added shortly before serving. They may begin to soften and break after about one day.
Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting so the buttercream does not melt.