Pull Apart Graveyard Cupcakes (Printable version)

Chocolate frosted cupcakes topped with crushed cookie dirt and edible tombstone decorations for a delightfully creepy Halloween treat.

# What You'll 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 - In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the dry mixture to the wet, then add milk, then mix in remaining dry ingredients until just combined.
03 - Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes 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 the frosting for dirt. Write RIP and spooky messages on rectangular cookies with gel icing pens to make tombstones. Press into the cupcakes. Decorate with gummy worms, candy pumpkins, or any spooky candy.
07 - Chill briefly before serving to set decorations.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • The graveyard theme creates instant Halloween magic without requiring fancy decorating skills
  • These cupcakes stay incredibly moist thanks to the butter and milk combination, so they taste even better than they look
02 -
  • The cupcakes must be completely cool before frosting or the butter will melt and your decorations will slide right off
  • Crush the chocolate cookies into fine crumbs not chunks for the most realistic dirt appearance
  • Write on your tombstone cookies before inserting them into the frosting much easier than decorating in place
03 -
  • Make the cupcakes a day ahead and store them in an airtight container then frost and decorate the day of serving
  • If your frosting feels too stiff add milk one teaspoon at a time until it reaches a spreadable consistency

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