Easy Owl Cupcakes with Oreos
These Owl Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting are almost too cute to eat! Their faces are super easy to make with double-stuffed Oreos and M&M’s and are sure to be a HOOT at any event. They’re perfect for after-school snacks, birthday parties, bake sales, and spooky season!
Nearly a decade ago, my daughter picked up a copy of Family Circle while we were checking out at the grocery store, and these precious owl cupcakes were on the cover. “Mom, you MUST make these owl cupcakes,” she said -and I mean, how could I say no to making these adorable big-eyed birds?
I don’t bake often, so when I do, I want to make it worthy of a splurge, and these owl cupcakes are 100% worth it! The base cupcake is the perfect dark chocolate cupcake slathered with chocolate peanut butter frosting. The Oreo owls are super easy to assemble, leaving plenty of time to make the cupcakes and the frosting from scratch!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The moist chocolate cupcake and fluffy chocolate peanut butter frosting are the perfect canvas for crunchy Oreos and M&Ms.
- It’s great for beginners. If you’re new to cupcake decorating, these owls are practically impossible to mess up.
- These darling little dudes are welcome on any occasion! They will definitely be a family favorite.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sugar – Sweetens and improves consistency.
- Unbleached all-purpose flour – AP flour absorbs the wet ingredients to create a thin cupcake batter that bakes into cupcakes with a moist crumb.
- Cocoa powder – Cocoa is responsible for the indulgent dark chocolate flavor. I recommend Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder or a combination of unsweetened cocoa powder and Dutch process cocoa.
- Dry baking essentials – Baking powder, baking soda, and salt each play a role in the batter expanding and rising nicely into a soft and stout cupcake.
- Eggs – Add moisture, flavor, and the protein needed to strengthen the batter, so the cupcakes do not fall apart.
- Whole milk – Helps make a thin yet cohesive batter. I have only tested this with whole milk, so I cannot say for sure if it works as well with a dairy-free milk alternative.
- Oil – Like grapeseed or canola, keeps the cupcakes moist as they bake.
- Vanilla extract – Adds extra rich, cream-like flavors—the better quality of the vanilla, the better tasting the cupcakes.
- Boiling water – It reacts with the dry leaveners and helps the cupcakes rise.
- Chocolate peanut butter frosting – The icing is a fuss-free buttercream frosting made with softened butter, cocoa powder, sifted confectioners’ sugar, whole milk, vanilla, and creamy peanut butter.
- For the owls – For the eyes, beak, and brows, you’ll need double stuffed Oreos, red or orange and brown M&M’s, and a tube of white decorating icing to use as an adhesive.
How To Make Owl Cupcakes
Step 1: Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 30 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Step 2: Mix dry ingredients. Add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) and whisk to combine.
Step 3: Add wet ingredients. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Finally, stir in the boiling water until just mixed.
Step 4: Pour batter and bake. Pour batter into the lined muffin cups a little more than 2/3rds full. Then, transfer to the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Step 5. Cool. After baking, let the cupcakes stand in the tin for 5 minutes. Then, remove and set them on a wire rack to finish cooling while you prepare the frosting.
Step 6: Make the frosting. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter, and cocoa until blended. Then alternate between whipping in milk and confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Add vanilla and peanut butter and mix to combine.
How To Decorate Owl Cupcakes
Here’s how to give these cupcakes their adorable owl aesthetic!
- Once cooled, spread the chocolate peanut butter buttercream over each cupcake.
- Open the Oreos by gently twisting them until they separate, so now you should have one cookie with the cream filling attached and one plain cookie.
- Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut the plain cookie in half using a sawing motion.
- The cookie half with the creme filling will be the eyeballs, so use a tiny bit of decorator’s icing to attach the brown M&M’s in the middle of the creme filling. Then place the eyes on the cupcakes.
- For the beak, place the red M&M sideways in between the eyes.
- Now dab a tiny bit of decorator’s icing on the back of the plain Oreo halves and place them above the eyes to make owl brows!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t forget to set the eggs out at temperature before getting started so they blend in better with the dry ingredients.
- This is a thin cupcake batter, so don’t be alarmed and accidentally overmix it. Once it becomes a cohesive cupcake batter, leave it be, and it will rise beautifully.
- Be careful not to overbake, or the cupcakes will become dry and crumbly instead of soft and tender. When finished, a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
- If you aren’t serving immediately, hold off on the Oreo and M&M toppings until immediately serving, or the moisture from the frosting will make the cookie soggy.
Variations
Make vanilla Oreo owls – Omit the cocoa powder to make a vanilla cupcake base, top with chocolate peanut butter frosting, and use golden Oreos for the eyes and eyebrows.
Stuff a fun surprise inside – Pour a few tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner, then place a mini chocolate peanut butter cup on top and gently press it into the batter. You want the peanut butter cup close to the bottom without touching the liner. Pour extra batter on top, filling the liners about 2/3rds full.
Other candy cupcake fillings – You can fill these Oreo owl cupcakes with all sorts of surprises. Try stuffing them with Reeses Pieces, mini M&M’s, or other small chocolate-coated candies.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Place extra cupcakes in a single layer in an airtight container tall enough not to smush the owl faces, and keep the container in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezing: Wrap the unfrosted, plain cupcakes individually in a tight layer of plastic wrap, and freeze in a sealed container for 2-3 months. Before serving, let thaw in the fridge, then decorate with freshly whipped chocolate peanut butter buttercream, and assemble the owl faces.
Recipe FAQ
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
It makes approximately 30 frosted cupcakes.
Can I make owl cupcakes with store-bought cake mix and frosting?
Cupcakes, in general, are much better homemade, but to cut out a few steps, yes -you can use store-bought chocolate cake mix. For the frosting, you can use store-bought chocolate frosting and add creamy peanut butter.
More Creative Cupcakes
Bailey’s Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting
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Owl Cupcakes with Oreos
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
- 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 30 snack-size chocolate peanut butter cups *optional: see notes
For the Frosting:
- 1 stick 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted, plus additional if needed
- 1/3 cup whole milk plus a little more if needed
- 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp creamy peanut butter
For the owls:
- 1 bag double stuff Oreos
- 1 large bag M&M’s candy pieces you’ll only need the red and brown ones
- small tube white decorating icing
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line muffin tins with 30 paper baking cups and set aside
- Whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa,baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl
- Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla
- Beat on medium speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer for 2 minutes
- Stir in boiling water (don’t panic…batter will look thin)
- Pour batter, evenly, into each cupcake liner a little more than 2/3rds full.
- Bake 22-25 minutes, until tops spring back and cakes are done
- Cool completely while you prepare the frosting
To make the Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting:
- Using a whisk attachment, whip butter and cocoa until smooth and blended
- Alternately add milk and confectioners’ sugar until all is incorporated
- Add vanilla and peanut butter and whip until smooth
To assemble:
- Frost your cooled cupcakes using a smooth knife
- Open the Oreos to separate by gently twisting the cookie
- Using a very sharp knife, in a sawing motion, slice the plain cookie in half, the half with the icing will be the eyes
- Using a little squirt of decorator’s icing, attach the brown M&M’s to the white iced part of the cookie
- Then place the cookies on top of the frosted cupcake
- Place the red M&M sideways in between the eyes for the beak
- Now dab a little decorator’s frosting on the back of the two halved cookie portions and place on top of the eyes
Notes
- Don’t forget to set the eggs out at temperature before getting started so they blend in better with the dry ingredients.
- This is a thin cupcake batter, so don’t be alarmed and accidentally overmix it. Once it becomes a cohesive cupcake batter, leave it be, and it will rise beautifully.
- Be careful not to overbake, or the cupcakes will become dry and crumbly instead of soft and tender. When finished, a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
- If you aren’t serving immediately, hold off on the Oreo and M&M toppings until immediately serving, or the moisture from the frosting will make the cookie soggy.
Nutrition
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These are too cute and my little ones are crazy for Oreos so I know they’ll be a hit! Pinning!
Thank you so much Christina!
These are super cute cupcakes and they look delicious.
Thank you Heather!!
So cute and creative!
Thank you Sonali!! 🙂
These are the cutest!!! love and pinned!!!
Thank you Alice! They are so easy, too! Bonus! 🙂
fun to see, fun to make, fun to display for a party or on Halloween night for Trick-or-Treaters, fun to eat, too