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Home » Recipes » Holidays and Events Recipes » Halloween Recipes

Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcakes

Published: Oct 19, 2019 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Aug 18, 2022 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

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Halloween Jack o'lantern bucket cupcake with candy strewn around
Collage of 2 photos of halloween jack o'lantern cupcakes

As a kid I dreamed of candy. And of course I always loved Halloween -trick or treating was so much fun! Neighbors giving away endless amounts of candy and all I was required to do was ring the doorbell?! Carrying one of those cute little plastic jack-o-lantern buckets to collect my candy in, with candy spilling out over the top, was definitely one of the highlights of the year!

Halloween Jack o'latern cupcakes on a black platter

And these Halloween Jack o'lantern Candy Cupcakes are just that - cute little jack o'lantern buckets filled with chocolate cupcakes that are filled with candies and topped with even more candies. Childhood dreams really do come true...

Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • 👪 Serving Size
  • 🍽 Equipment
  • 🚗Transporting
  • 🌡️Storage
  • ⭐ Reviews
  • 🎃Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcake Recipe
  • 📋More Halloween Recipes!

These Halloween candy cupcakes are perfect for a Halloween party because they are simple and fun to make and easily transported to wherever you are going! You're probably going to dig into that Halloween candy before Halloween anyway, so why not use some to top these cupcakes off with it? The fun part is topping it with your favorites. I bought a variety bag and used some candy I had in the house but you could use any candy you desire. You can also use your favorite scratch chocolate cupcake recipe, a box mix or store-bought. And because these cupcakes aren't scary looking they are great for kids (any age) and adults alike!

Halloween Pinata cupcake with candy spilling out of cupcake

🥘 Ingredients

For this jack o lantern cupcakes recipe, you'll need:

  • Cupcakes *you can buy plain cupcakes (or already iced),  use a box cake mix, your favorite chocolate cake recipe, my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake or my Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake. You could also use vanilla cupcakes or pumpkin cupcakes
  • Scaries (Halloween smarties) * or substitute regular smarties
  • Frosting: you can use store-bought, your favorite frosting, my Whipped Cream Buttercream Frosting or my Chocolate Frosting (without butter), chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting or orange frosting
  • black licorice
  • a variety of candies for topping
  • orange paper ice cream/dessert cups (6 oz)
  • black marker
Halloween Jack o'latern bucket cupcake with candy strewn around

Besides going door to door to get candy, there are very few things that are more fun than busting something open to have candy spill out of it. And that's what Pinata Cupcakes or surprise middle cupcakes are. The candy surprise inside makes this cupcake even more satisfying because there's even more candy to be had than the candy you see on top!

🔪 Instructions

  1. When cupcakes are cooled, use an apple corer to remove centres of cupcakes and set aside centres
  2. Fill cupcake with smarties or other small candies to ¾ full
  3. Cut centres in half and only put top half back into hole in cupcakes
  4. Top cupcakes with frosting. Draw jack-o-lantern faces on orange cups. Gently set cupcake inside orange cup. Add a piece of black licorice as the handle, securing on each side of the cupcake (it should slide in and stay on each side of the cupcake, but you can use a little icing to make it stick if you need to)Top with candies and serve! *See recipe card for full instructions
collage of 4 photos of instructions to make Halloween candy cupcakes

👪 Serving Size

This jack-o-lantern cupcakes recipe makes 12 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.

🍽 Equipment

And pinata cupcakes are surprisingly easy to make - all you need is an apple corer and 6 oz orange paper dessert cups (affiliate links) and a black marker. If you are making them from scratch you'll need a muffin tin and cupcake liners, as well as a pastry bag, coupler and tip.

🚗Transporting

If you need to transport these Halloween chocolate cupcakes, use the cups with lids, cover with plastic wrap or just put into a taller container and add the licorice on when you get to where you are going

🌡️Storage

Store these Halloween cupcakes at room temperature for up to 3 days. It is not necessary to refrigerate them (unless you use a frosting that requires refrigeration). You can also make these cupcakes in advance and freeze them (but do not fill and frost them until after they are fully defrosted.

So, if you have a Halloween gathering, party or potluck coming up, then why not take along these easy Jack o lantern cupcakes?!

Halloween Jack o'latern bucket cupcake with candy strewn around

⭐ Reviews

Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

Halloween Candy Cupcakes
Food Meandering Logo

🎃Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcake Recipe

These Halloween Jack o 'lantern Cupcakes are chocolate pinata cupcakes (filled with candies) with more candies on top! They are great for kids and adults alike and perfect for your next Halloween party or potluck!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Canadian, North American
Keyword: candy, cupcakes, Halloween, Jack o'lantern
Special Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 394kcal
Author: Terri Gilson
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

apple corer

Ingredients

  • 12 chocolate cupcakes
    you can use any chocolate cake recipe, use a cake mix or store-bought cupcakes * I recommend my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (see NOTES) which I used for these
  • 2 boxes smarties ('scaries') or candies (to fill cupcake) * Scaries are the Halloween smarties
  • 3 cups chocolate frosting * I recommend my Chocolate Whipped Cream Buttercream frosting (see recipe NOTES)
  • 12 pieces black licorice
  • variety of candies for topping
  • 12 orange paper ice cream/dessert cups (6 oz)
  • black marker
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Bake cupcakes as per recipe instructions
  • When cupcakes are cooled, use an apple corer to remove centres of cupcakes and set aside centres
    centre of cupcake removed with apple corer
  • Fill cupcake with smarties or other small candies to ¾ full
    cupcake centre being filled with candy
  • Cut centres in half and only put top half back into hole in cupcakes

Decorating

  • Top cupcakes with frosting
  • Draw a jack o'lantern face on each orange cup (you'll want to draw a variety of faces)
    Drawing a jack o'lantern face on each orange cup
  • Gently set cupcake inside orange cup.
    cupcake places inside orange cup
  • Add a piece of black licorice as the handle, securing on each side of the cupcake (it should slide in and stay on each side of the cupcake, but you can use a little icing to make it stick if you need to)
    adding licorice for handle
  • Add candies to the top of each cupcake and serve!
    candies added to the top of the cupcake

Notes

*Please see post contents for important recipe information and tips!
Please SUBSCRIBE  (get my FREE E-cookbook) and be sure to FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST!
 
Nutrition Facts
🎃Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcake Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 394 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 250mg11%
Potassium 152mg4%
Carbohydrates 63g21%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 50g56%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 28IU1%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 63mg6%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 394kcal (20%) | Carbohydrates: 63g (21%) | Protein: 3g (6%) | Fat: 16g (25%) | Saturated Fat: 5g (31%) | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 250mg (11%) | Potassium: 152mg (4%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 50g (56%) | Vitamin A: 28IU (1%) | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 63mg (6%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
Rate this Recipe

📋More Halloween Recipes!

  • Boo Batter Ice Cream (no churn)
  • Melting Witch Halloween Punch (non-alcoholic)
  • Halloween Phantom Pierogi Pizza Pockets
  • Melting Witches Halloween Chocolate Bark
  • Witches Brew Spumoni Trifle (with jello worms)
  • No Bake (Inside out) Boston Cream Moon Pie

More Halloween Recipes

  • Halloween Buffalo Chicken Dip on a black platter with black nacho chips and orange peppers
    Slow Cooker Halloween Buffalo Chicken Dip
  • collage of 4 photos of Halloween potluck foods with white text on black background in the middle
    25 Halloween Potluck Foods
  • 8 Leftover Halloween Candy Tarts on a black platter with candy
    Leftover Halloween Candy Tarts
  • Frankenstein face made out of fettuccine an
    Halloween Pasta Recipe: Frankenstein Fettuccine

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Colleen

    October 23, 2019 at 8:58 am

    Definitely the stuff of childhood dreams, Terri! These cupcakes are adorable and so fun. I love how simple they are and so creative!

    Reply
  2. Sabrina

    October 23, 2019 at 3:56 pm

    These are absolutely the cutest! What a fun great idea, I can’t wait to surprise my kids with these, thanks!

    Reply
  3. Kristen

    October 25, 2019 at 9:06 am

    Terri these are so freakin cute - what a great recipe to involve my daughter in, she will love this!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      October 26, 2019 at 11:01 am

      Thanks, Kristen! Your daughter will love helping! My 12 year old daughter drew all the Jack o’lantern faces- I am not that artistic 🙂

      Reply
  4. Katherine | Love In My Oven

    October 25, 2019 at 3:41 pm

    Oh my gosh these are the CUTEST!!! My kids would absolutely love them!! Perfect for Halloween!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      October 26, 2019 at 10:59 am

      Thanks Katherine! My kids and their friends definitely enjoyed them!

      Reply
  5. Sean@Diversivore

    October 26, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    Awww, these are tons of fun! Such a great way to really take the Halloween theme to a cupcake. And I love that they stay separate and neat too - perfect for kids at a Halloween party!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      October 26, 2019 at 3:04 pm

      Thanks, Sean!

      Reply

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I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer and a busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

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