Skeleton Cupcakes

Spooky but fun Skeleton Cupcakes with chocolate skeletons on top of your favorite cupcakes are a perfect easy Halloween treat for kids!

Skeleton Cupcakes

Are you gearing up for Halloween yet? By now, I usually have my house decked out in fall leaves and cinnamon candles with some spooky candlesticks and spiders thrown in until Halloween, but this year… Not so much.  I’m just a slacker this year. But that won’t stop the kids from needing treats for their school Halloween parties, so I wanted to share some inspiration, like these fun Skeleton Cupcakes.

These Skeleton Cupcakes look like they might be hard, but the skeletons are actually just made of chocolate squeezed from a sandwich baggy! They’re actually pretty simple to make with your favorite cupcakes, frosting, and few more supplies below.  Let’s get started!

Skeleton Cupcakes Supplies:

• 20-24 chocolate cupcakes, baked, cooled and ready to frost!
• Large batch vanilla buttercream (this is my favorite recipe)
• Black food coloring (I use the Wilton black gel)
• Yellow food coloring (I used Wilton gels again)
• Piping bag and tip (These are my favorite bags, and I used this Wilton round 2A tip)
• Wax paper
• 1 (11 ounce) white chocolate chips or Wilton candy melts
• About 2 teaspoons shortening
• Wilton Sparkle Gel in Black

Skeleton Cupcakes Directions

1. After your frosting is prepared, leave it in the large mixing bowl to color it.   Add a little bit of black food coloring, and stir to combine.

2.  You will probably notice that this makes more of purple than gray, which is why we have yellow food coloring.  I learned this trick last year while I was making a dinosaur cake that need rock-colored frosting.  If you add a little bit of yellow food coloring, it will counteract and kind of cancel the purple tint. But only add a tiny tiny bit at a time, then mix to combine and see if you need to add a tiny tiny bit more. Add coloring until you reach your desired color.

3.  When frosting is colored gray, add to a piping bag with attached tip and pipe onto each cupcake. Set aside cupcakes.

4. Draw a skeleton on a sheet of paper, or you can search for one on Google and print it off.  Make sure it’s small enough to sit on top of a cupcake.

5.  Place the piece of paper with template under a sheet of wax paper on a baking sheet, and set aside.

6. In a small sandwich bag, microwave 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips with about 1/2 teaspoon shortening for 45 seconds on 50% power. Knead chips until melted and if necessary, return to microwave in 15 second increments until melted.

7. Snip the tip of the bag and pipe the outline of the skeleton onto the wax paper. Fill in with melted chocolate.

8. Repeat by sliding the paper template under the wax paper to a new position and piping enough skeletons to top cupcakes.  Repeat step 6 and 7 if you run out of chocolate.

9.  Place piped skeletons in the refrigerator to set.

10.  When chocolate is firm and set, add eyes, mouth and nose to your skeletons with sparkle gel.

11. Press into cupcakes and serve. Keep refrigerated until about 1-2 before serving.

There you go! Now your Skeleton Cupcakes are ready to be eaten! Enjoy! And trick or treat!

Did you like this Skeleton Cupcakes Tutorial? Find more on my Halloween and Cakes & Cupcakes board on Pinterest!

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