Recipe: How to Make Cute Penguin Cupcakes

I love baking with the kids, it’s a perfect time to spend some time together and chat, laugh, and make a collective mess. There are 8 humans in our home, collective messes are our specialty! This Recipe: How to Make Cute Penguin Cupcakes requires almost no mess at all though, you can easily buy store bought cupcakes and only worry about making the penguins. No baking mess!

Recipe: How to Make Cute Penguin Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients:

1 1/3 C flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 TBSP unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 tsp baking vanilla or imitation vanilla works as well
1 C whole milk

Frosting Ingredients:

1 C soft unsalted butter
4 + C powdered sugar
1 tsp baking vanilla or imitation vanilla works as well
4 TBSP heavy whipping cream
1 package Oreo Cookies
Package Orange mini BAKING M&M’s
Wilton Black Foodwriter

Chocolate Cupcake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line cupcake tins with cute paper liners.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt stirring together. Set aside.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl.
• Beat the eggs one at a time, after each addition, then add in the vanilla.
• Alternating add the flour mixture  with the milk; beating  well.
• Fill the lined cupcake tins 3/4 full.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester into the cake comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in cupcake tin for 10 minutes.
• Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting Directions:

• Cream the butter and powder sugar until it looks light and creamy.
• Add the vanilla extract.
• If it doesn’t cream add several drops of the heavy whipping cream until it creams.
• Test to see if the frosting can form and hold a stiff peak by taking a spoonful of frosting and turning the spoon upside down. If the frosting stays on the spoon it is ready if not then….
  – Add more powder sugar 1/2 C at a time…. mix well.
• Scoop the frosting into a pastry bag with a large round  tip.
• Twist the open end of the pastry bag to push the frosting to the tip.
• Start by frosting on the outside edge of the cupcake working to the center of the cupcake.

How to make the the cutest penguins ever!

• Take out one Oreo for each cupcake.
• Separate each Oreo into 2 pieces.  Keep the filling on one side of the wafer cookie.
• Cut the other half of the Oreo cookie into 2 equal pieces.
  -Refer to the picture of the cupcakes for visual instructions.
• Using the Wilton Black Food Writer make two small round circles, color in for the eyes.
  -Check for the placement of the eyes.
• Using 1 mini orange M&M’s, place it on it’s side for the nose. Stick it in the cookie filling so that it will stay. If the orange M&M doesn’t stay in place using a tiny amount of the frosting to lock it into place.
• Place the other two mini orange M&M’s in front of the whole Oreo cookie, into the frosting, on their side for the feet.
• Place the two halves of the Oreo cookie on each side of the cupcake into the frosting for it’s wings.
• These should be positioned directly behind the penguin head with half of the cookie extending out from the frosted cupcake.