Description
Delightfully spooky Tremors Cupcakes featuring moist vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy vanilla buttercream, decorated with homemade molasses cookie beaks, fondant tentacles, and a crunchy cookie crumb ‘sand’ coating. Perfect for Halloween or themed parties, these cupcakes combine sweet, spicy, and rich flavors with a fun, creative presentation.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcakes
- 1 box vanilla cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 3 large eggs
Cookie Beaks
- 1 package Betty Crocker Molasses Cookie mix
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 large egg
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
- 6–8 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Tentacles and Cookie Sand
- Fist sized amount of store bought fondant
- 2–3 drops red food dye
- 1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 15 Biscoff Cookies
- 2 graham crackers
Instructions
- Cupcakes Preparation: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line your cupcake pan with liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the vanilla cake mix, water, oil, and eggs until no lumps remain. Fill each cupcake liner about two-thirds full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Cookie Beaks Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine Betty Crocker Molasses Cookie mix, softened butter, water, and egg. Mix with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until a dough forms. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper, then place it in the freezer to harden. Using cardstock templates shaped as large and small oblong triangles, cut out cookie shapes from the chilled dough; 1 large and 3 small pieces per cupcake. If dough softens, return to freezer briefly. Carefully place these pieces on the outside (upside down) of a bundt cake pan to curve them, and bake for 6-8 minutes. Cool completely before removing.
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting: Using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer, beat unsalted butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add 6 cups of powdered sugar, along with cream and vanilla extract, mixing slowly to incorporate. Once combined, beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes to aerate the frosting. Add additional powdered sugar one cup at a time until desired thick and pipeable consistency is reached.
- Creating Tentacles and Cookie Sand: Knead the store-bought fondant with 2-3 drops of red food dye until the color is uniform. Add 1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder to deepen the color and knead again until fully incorporated. Using a food processor, pulse the 15 Biscoff cookies and 2 graham crackers into very fine crumbs to create the ‘cookie sand.’
- Assembly: Pipe an ample amount of vanilla buttercream frosting onto each cooled cupcake. Roll or dip the frosted cupcakes into the cookie crumb mixture so the frosting is fully covered. Assemble the cookie beak on top by inserting the large triangle as the main beak and the three small triangles arranged as the mouthpiece. Insert the colored fondant tentacles into the cookie mouth. Sprinkle a bit more cookie sand inside the mouth area for added texture and effect. Serve immediately for the best visual impact. SCREAM!
Notes
- Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before decorating to prevent frosting from melting.
- If the cookie dough softens during cutting, chill it again for easier handling.
- Adjust powdered sugar quantity in frosting to achieve desired consistency for piping.
- Use red and cocoa powder in fondant cautiously to reach the desired tentacle color without making the fondant too sticky.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container to keep them fresh for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 220mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
