Pull Apart Graveyard Cupcakes (Printable Version)
Chocolate cupcakes topped with frosting, crushed cookie dirt, and decorated tombstone cookies for a creepy Halloween treat.
# What You Need:
→ Cupcakes
01 - 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 cup granulated sugar
03 - ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
04 - ½ cup whole milk
05 - 2 large eggs
06 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
07 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
08 - ¼ teaspoon salt
→ Chocolate Frosting
09 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
10 - 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
11 - ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
12 - 2-3 tablespoons milk
13 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14 - Pinch of salt
→ Decoration
15 - 6-8 chocolate sandwich cookies
16 - 6-8 rectangular cookies or biscuits
17 - Black, white, and green gel icing pens
18 - Gummy worms, candy pumpkins, or Halloween themed candies
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
02 - Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add half the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, then milk, then remaining dry ingredients until just combined.
03 - Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
04 - Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder, mixing slowly. Add vanilla and milk, beating until smooth and spreadable.
05 - Arrange cooled cupcakes close together on a serving tray in a rectangle or mound. Generously spread chocolate frosting over all cupcakes, creating a smooth surface.
06 - Crush chocolate sandwich cookies and sprinkle over frosting for dirt. Write RIP and spooky messages on rectangular cookies with gel icing pens to create tombstones. Press into cupcakes. Decorate with gummy worms, candy pumpkins, or Halloween candy.
07 - Chill briefly before serving to set decorations.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The decorating is genuinely therapeutic, like edible gardening but with more chocolate
- Kids and adults both get equally invested in creating their own mini graveyard scenes
02 -
- Let those cupcakes cool completely before frosting or your chocolate frosting will melt into sad puddles
- Write your tombstone messages before inserting the cookies into the cupcakes so your hand stays steady
03 -
- Chill the assembled cake for 15 minutes before serving so everything sets up nicely
- Write your tombstone messages on the cookies a day ahead so the gel icing has time to dry completely