If you’re looking for fun and colorful cupcakes to bake with the kids this holiday season, this is the post for you! I’m going to share several of my favorites, guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit!
Cupcakes and Fall Go Together!
I don’t know about you, but I’m crazy about cupcakes. I probably bake more cupcakes than cakes, to be honest. That’s because they’re simple to make and so cute, too!
Best of all, people are more likely to grab a cupcake at a get-together than to take a slice of cake. (This I’ve learned from years of baking. People like simple, user-friendly baked goods.)
And who can blame them? A well-decorated cupcake can be both beautiful and tasty! And I’ll be honest with you: I love, love, love decorating cupcakes because they’re so much simpler than decorating a whole cake.
Best of all, if you’re decorating all of the cupcakes in the batch alike, you’ll get the hang of it after the first two or three and the rest will be a breeze.
Baking in the Fall
There’s no better time of year to bake cupcakes than during the holidays, particularly the fall. That’s because the flavors and designs are so plentiful!
I’ve been on a roll lately making fall cupcakes. I baked nearly 100 of them just last week for a fall festival. And I had so much fun decorating them in those beautiful fall colors.
That’s how I came up with the idea for this post. It occurred to me that I should compile all of my fall cupcakes into one easy post.
Look for this post to grow over the years as new cupcakes make their way into my repertoire.
Let’s Talk Frosting
A good cupcake calls for amazing frosting and I’ve got the best!
I’ve actually got a host of frosting recipes you can try, including my Dreamy Buttercream, my Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and Ultimate Decorator’s Buttercream.
You can choose any one you like, but I’m going to give you the recipe for my favorite (Dreamy Buttercream) recipe before I list the cupcakes. This is the recipe I used for all of mine. If you prefer something else, feel free to use your favorite.
Dreamy Buttercream Frosting
FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup (two sticks) salted butter, softened
- 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup Crisco white shortening
- 1 bag (7-8 cups) powdered sugar
- Clear vanilla extract (and/or almond extract, to taste)
- Italian Sweet Cream Creamer (or heavy whipping cream, to thin the frosting)
HOW TO MAKE DREAMY BUTTERCREAM:
Beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add shortening and vanilla extract, and continue to beat. Slowly add the powdered sugar, mixing at low speed. You can thin with heavy cream or coffee creamer.
Place into piping bag with the tip of your choice and pipe onto the cupcakes.
Favorite Fall Cupcakes!
Without further ado, here are my favorite fall cupcakes! These aren’t listed in any particular order. I just went through my favorites and added them to the lineup.
Enjoy!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
These delicious carrot cake cupcakes start with a box of cake mix but have a very simple addition that takes them over the top: orange juice!
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 box carrot cake mix
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 whole room temperature eggs
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream, (white, orange, green, see instructions)
DIRECTIONS
- Make the cupcake by combining all ingredients, mixing, and scooping with an ice cream scoop into lined cupcake tins. Bake at 350 for 15 – 17 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack.
- Mix together your dreamy buttercream. Leave about 2/3 of it in white but split the remaining third into two colors: orange and green. Use a star tip to pipe the white then use a round tip for the orange carrot and a grass tip for the grass on the end.
Colorful Pumpkin Cupcakes
These colorful pumpkin cupcakes are going to be the hit of your party and they start with a simple box o cake mix!
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 box spice cake
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water or milk
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream, dyed orange
DECOR
- 20 tootsie rolls
- 1/4 cup fondant, dyed green
DIRECTIONS
- Combine cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Scoop with an ice cream scoop into linked cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 – 17 minutes or until golden.
- Make a batch of Dreamy Buttercream and dye it orange.
- Once the cupcakes are cooled, use a Wilton 1M tip to pipe the pumpkins on, starting with wider circles at the bottom and narrowing as you go up. Use a Tootsie Roll for the stem and a bit of green fondant for an added pop of color.
Candy Corn Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water or milk
- Orange and yellow coloring gel
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream, colored white, orange, yellow (see instructions below)
Oreo Spider Cupcake
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 Oreo Funfetti cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk or water
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream
- 12 finely crushed Oreos
FOR THE DECORATIONS
- 20 regular Oreos
- 1/2 cup black frosting
- Candy eyes
Monster Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- Chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup milk
- 3 whole room temperature eggs
- 1/2 cup melted butter or oil
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream, divided into four colors: purple, orange, lime, green, white
TO DECORATE
- Mini Oreos
- Candy eyes
Brightly Colored Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- Funfetti Cupcake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water or milk
- 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream, divided into three colors: lime green, purple, orange
- Fall sprinkles
Cookie Butter Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 white cake mix
- 1/4 cup crushed Lotus Biscoff cookies
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
- 1/2 cup melted cookie butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or 1 tablespoon maple syrup/pancake syrup)
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- Additional crushed Lotus Biscoff cookies (to top off before baking)
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 cups room temperature butter
- 1/3 cup cookie butter
- 1 block room temperature cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 5 – 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Turkey Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- Chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 room temperature eggs
FOR THE FROSTING
- One batch chocolate ganache frosting
FOR THE DECOR
- Candy corn
- Candy eyeballs
Cute as Pie Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 box white cake mix (or flavor of your choice)
- 1 cup water or milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 room temperature eggs
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream, dyed in multiple colors, depending on the style you choose: red, orange, white, pale yellow, and light brown (for crust)
FOR THE DECOR
- Red M&Ms (for berry pie)
Spider Web Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 box cake mix (flavor of your choice)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch Dreamy buttercream, dyed pale blue (or bright red) and black for webbing
Butter Pecan Cupcakes
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 box butter pecan cake mix
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 3 room temperature eggs
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 batch dreamy buttercream with 1 teaspoon maple extract
TO DECORATE
- Melted caramels (about half a cup)
- Chopped pecans (about half a cup)
More Fall Cupcakes to Enjoy!
Follow the links to get the recipes!
That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe.
If you make this any of these recipes and love them, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!
About the Author
Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.