These impressive Halloween Eyeball Cupcakes are easy to make using boxed cake mix and store-bought candy.
Eyeball Cupcakes check out everyone that walks by your Halloween treat table! They are the perfect spooky treat to have at your Halloween party, or let the kids make.
I'll show you how to make them with mini cupcakes, frosting, and a few simple candies. You can assemble them in a matter of minutes!
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Cupcakes at Halloween are one of my favorite party desserts. You'll love ghost cupcakes, candy corn cupcakes, as well as my polka dot Halloween cupcakes for your festive spread.
Halloween eyeball cupcakes
Eyeball cupcakes are one of the easiest halloween cupcakes to make because everything is round and simple!
These treats are the perfect food craft for kids to help with. I like to set them up as a craft for friends and kids at a party since any beginner baker could master this recipe.
The cupcakes are made in minutes with a cake mix (or you can always try homemade cupcakes)!
I love the simplicity of a cake mix, but always have to have homemade frosting to go with it. I like to make my own frosting with a little butter and confectioners' sugar.
The edible eyes are so fun and easy to make. Just make sure you get the large gumdrops, not the small standard size.
Ingredients
- Mini cupcakes
- White frosting
- Licorice laces
- Red writing gel
- Large gumdrops
- Black candy-coated chocolates
Eyeball Halloween cupcakes come together in a matter of minutes. Purchase mini cupcakes at the store or make them using box cake mix or a homemade vanilla cake recipe.
The frosting on top is just four ingredients, confectioners' sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla extract whipped together in a mixer until light and fluffy. You could also use store-bought frosting as a shortcut, but I think frosting from scratch is so much better.
The actual eyes are made with large gumdrops and M&Ms. Enhance the eyes with red veins using red gel coloring and lashes with black licorice.
Tara's Tip: Make the mini cupcakes using store-bought cake mix or make them homemade. You could also just buy mini cupcakes at the grocery store and decorate those as well.
How to make eyeball cupcakes
Make eyeball cupcakes in a few simple steps. For the amounts and detailed instructions refer to the recipe card below.
- Make vanilla frosting with butter, confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Prepare mini cupcakes (I use a cake mix).
- Cut licorice laces with kitchen shears on the bias to create eyelashes.
- Cut large gumdrops in slices to make the base of the eyeballs.
- Frost cupcakes.
- If desired add red blood vessels with red writing gel.
- Place gumdrop slices sticky-side up on each cupcake.
- Add a black candy pupil. It will stick to the cut side of the gumdrop.
- If desired add black licorice eyelashes.
The eyelashes for these eyeball cupcakes take the cake! I snipped black licorice laces on the diagonal to make little bits that look just like lashes.
Once the cupcakes are frosted, I used large gumdrops for the base of each eyeball. Just slice the large bottom off each gumdrop and place it, sugared-side down, on the frosting.
The black M&M eyeballs stick right to the cut side of each gumdrop!
Insert the candy eyelashes one by one into the frosting just under the gumdrop. Take a LOOK! You're done!
For these eyeball cupcakes I add the black M&Ms in different places. That makes an entire platter of them look like they are staring in different directions!
For bloodshot eyes I used a little tube of red decorator gel. No need to get out a piping bag, you can just pipe right from the tube.
Storage
Store these spooky treats in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to two days.
I don't recommend freezing them fully decorated. You can freeze the un-frosted, or frosted cupcakes, and thaw before decorating.
Frequently Asked Questions
No food coloring needed! For the blood, use a red writing gel to make the veins on the eyeballs on the frosting of the cupcakes.
Alternatively you can use red gel food coloring on a toothpick to draw the veins.
Yes, of course! They are best served the day they are made, but you can bake the cupcakes the day before then frost and decorate them the day of your party.
The best frosting is a classic American buttercream that is easy to make at home. You can use store-bought frosting as well, I just prefer the taste of homemade.
More Halloween recipes
- Monster Chicken Sliders
- Spider Caramel Apples
- Halloween Graham Crackers with Frosting
- Chocolate Whoopie Pies
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📖 Recipe
Eerie Eyeball Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) (softened)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- Dash Salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 36 mini cupcakes
- 36 large gumdrops
- 36 black candy-coated chocolate pieces (M&Ms)
- Black licorice laces
- Red writing gel
Instructions
- To make frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar ½ cup at a time, mixing well. Add salt and beat in vanilla extract; stir until smooth. Frost cupcakes.
- For the decorations: Cut round slices from gumdrops about ⅛ inch thick and center on frosted cupcakes sugar-side down.
- Top each gumdrop with a candy-coated chocolate piece (M&M).
- For lashes, cut licorice laces in ½-inch pieces on an angle and add to cupcakes. To make bloodshot eyes, pipe lines with decorating writing gel before adding the gumdrop.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
- You can make your own mini cupcakes or use store-bought.
- Store in an airtight container for up to two days.
Nutrition
Fantastic Halloween Recipes
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Recipe Tara Teaspoon. Photographs Hallie Burton. Ingredient photograph Tara Teaspoon. Food Stylist Joyce Sangirardi. Prop Stylist Linsey Freyers. Originally published LHJ 10/09. Updated Oct 2023.
Mary Bench says
Kids will love this one! Thanks!
Brittany Smart says
Kids are going to love this for Halloween!
Julie says
These are super cute and easy to put together. I don't have fancy frosting skills, so these would be perfect my skill level!