You'll love these easy-to-make Grinch Cupcakes! They don't have complicated frosting designs, so kids can help and not "mess them up!" They're green, delicious, start with a cake mix, and the perfect addition to any holiday party or Grinch Movie Night this Christmas season.
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Easy Grinch Cupcakes
This holiday season will be even better when you take time to bake with your kids! Even if they're messy, the kids will have so much fun, and memories will be made, and those are the things that matter most. These adorable Grinch Cupcakes are the perfect recipe to get the kids involved!
"The Grinch" cupcakes taste like regular vanilla cupcakes (unless you choose to do a different flavor) or you choose to add peppermint extract!
Looking for a Grinch Cake? I have an Easy Grinch Cake + 10 More Grinch Cake Ideas here!
More Grinch Desserts
- Grinch Cookies
- Grinch Shots
- Easy Grinch Cake + 10 More Grinch Cake Ideas!
- Grinch Punch
- Grinch Fudge (coming soon!)
- Grinch Hot Chocolate
- Grinch Pancakes (coming soon!)
- Grinch Popcorn
- Grinch Rice Krispies (coming soon!)
Why You'll Love These Christmas Cupcakes
- They're easy to make! Most Grinch cupcake ideas include making a Grinch face (which is not easy). This is a cake mix recipe, and the decorations are simple.
- Versatile - you can change up the cake flavor and the decorations and even use some shortcuts if you want!
- These Grinch themed cupcakes are great for movie night at home, a kid's Christmas party, or the perfect treat for a day of baking with littles. Regardless of where you serve them, kids are going to squeal at the sight of these cute green cupcakes!
Tools Needed
Nothing fancy here - these are all tools that most home cooks already have in their kitchen!
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Cupcake Pan
- Cupcake Liners (green ones are fun if you can find them!)
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Electric Mixer (Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer)
- Piping Bag and Large Star Tip. This 1M frosting tip is available at most big-box or craft stores.
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
These are all simple ingredients you may already have or could easily find at any grocery store to make delicious Grinch cupcakes. For best results, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you get started!
Cake
- White Cake Mix
- Large Eggs
- Oil
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Green Gel Food Coloring
Green Frosting
The frosting is already mixed up in the photo above but you can see what you'll need here:
- Butter, softened (I use salted butter, but unsalted butter would work just as well, but you probably want to add a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor)
- Vanilla Extract
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk ( or heavy cream or water) for thinning
- Green Food Coloring
- Yellow Food Coloring
- Large Heart Sprinkles
Using both green and yellow food coloring really gives you that bright "Grinch green" color that is the signature for these green cupcakes!
Find the complete recipe with ingredients measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
Cake Mix - If making the cake batter green is not important to you, you could use any flavor of cake mix that you like for this Grinch cupcakes recipe. Red Velvet cupcakes would be cute as they'd tie in with Grinch's heart. Just substitute red velvet cake mix for the white cake mix and skip the green food coloring - you'd still have really festive Grinch cupcakes!
Frosting - I prefer homemade vanilla buttercream frosting but to make things easier, you could grab a can of premade white frosting and color it green! I also recommend mixing in an extra cup of powdered sugar to make the frosting more pipeable! This cream cheese frosting recipe would also work or any white buttercream.
Red Heart Sprinkles - If you can't find red heart sprinkles, you could also pipe the hearts with red frosting or you could use a small heart cookie cutter to cut them out of red fondant. Any of these options would work on the top of the cupcake!
How to Make Grinch Cupcakes
Your kids are going to love these cute Grinch cupcakes and they truly are easy to make! We're not making a Grinch face with Grinch eyes - just fun green designs with a red Grinch heart!
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line your muffin tins with muffin liners.
- On medium speed, mix together all of the cupcake ingredients in your bowl and then fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ of the way filled, about ¼ cup of cupcake batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes and set the unfrosted cupcakes on a wire rack to cool.
How to Make Grinch Green Icing
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting by creaming together the butter and vanilla. Once it's light and fluffy, add the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest setting on your mixture until the sugar is incorporated.
- Scrape down the bowl and add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you get a soft, pipeable consistency.
- Add the frosting to your piping bag with a star tip and decorate your completely cooled cupcakes.
- For swirls, start in the center of the cupcake and pipe in a circular motion to cover the green cupcake, then move upward. You can also pipe a tiny bit out and pull down on the cupcakes all over to make a fur-like textured look. There's no "wrong way" here - kids will only see cute cupcakes!
- Place a large red heart on top of each cupcake and enjoy a Grinch cupcake!
Want to learn the basics of cake decorating? Check out my book - Cake Decorating for Beginners! You can also order a signed copy here (it makes a great Christmas gift, and I ship fast!).
Below, the cupcake on the left is a traditional swirl. The one on the right is the same star tip, but it's done by pressing a dot of frosting and pulling away. Both are cute Christmas cupcakes that kids will love!
Variations
As mentioned above, you could make a red velvet cupcake recipe instead of green cupcakes if you'd like a different cake flavor!
For a festive twist, add a teaspoon peppermint extract to the cake batter or frosting for some minty flavor!
Storage Directions
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container or wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
FAQ
The best way to save these cupcakes is in the freezer in a large freezer-safe container. This ensures the frosting does not fall or look weird; it stays perfectly in place. Then thaw for about 10-20 minutes at room temperature before enjoying! Or, you can save leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Yes, canned frosting is really soft and does not pipe well straight out of the can. The extra powdered sugar helps prevent the frosting from falling or melting on the cupcakes and looking ugly. It also adds air to the frosting, increasing the amount of frosting you have available to use.
You could spread frosting on with a butter knife or spatula, then use a fork to give it texture. For more structure (it may not be easier) there is another way to make a similar fur texture: with the grass piping tip. Alternatively, you can frost the cupcakes normally and simply add the heart sprinkle or other decorations.
If you have a black edible writing gel, then use that to draw on the lower part of the face with the mouth, then add some edible eye sprinkles above, on every cupcake.
More Christmas Recipes
Get in the Christmas spirit with more Christmas themed recipes! These are all perfect for Christmas time!
- Santa Hat Cheese Ball
- Christmas Mimosas (for some Christmas cheer!)
- Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
- Rudolph Dessert Charcuterie Board
- Super Red Buttercream Frosting
Recipe
How to Make Easy Grinch Cupcakes with a Heart
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
You'll love these easy-to-make Grinch Cupcakes! They don't have complicated frosting designs, so kids can help and not "mess them up!" They're green, delicious, start with a cake mix, and the perfect addition to any holiday party or Grinch Movie Night this Christmas season.
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
- 1 (15.25 ounce) White Cake Mix
- 2 Eggs
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ teaspoon Green Food Dye
Frosting
- 2 cups butter, softened
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Green Food Dye
- ¼ teaspoon Yellow Food Dye
- 16 large Red heart sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line your muffin tin with muffin liners.
- Stir together all of the cupcake ingredients in your bowl and then fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ of the way filled, about ¼ cup.
- Bake for about 20 minutes and set on a cooling rack to cool.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting by creaming together the butter and vanilla. Once it's light and fluffy, add the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest setting on your mixture until the sugar is incorporated.
- Scrape down the bowl and add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you get a soft, pipeable consistency.
- Add in the green and yellow food dye to make the frosting a Grinch green.
- Add the frosting to your piping bag with a star tip and decorate your completely cooled cupcakes. For swirls, start in the center of the cupcake and pipe in a circular motion to cover the green cupcake, then move upward. You can also pipe a tiny bit out and pull down on the cupcakes all over to make a fur-like textured look. There's no "wrong way" here - kids will only see cute cupcakes!
- Place a large red heart on top of each cupcake and enjoy a Grinch cupcake!
Notes
- Store in the fridge for 2-3 days or save leftovers in the freezer, in an airtight container.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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