Owl Cupcakes (4 Ingredients, No Baking)

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If you are looking for a fun sweet treat, look no further than these Owl Cupcakes. Whether you are about to send an acceptance letter to the Gryffindor House, want a tame Halloween snack, or have a modest woodland-themed wedding shower? These cupcakes are budget-friendly and so easy to assemble that the whole family can get in on this easy cupcake recipe. Cupcakes, frosting, OREO cookies, and Reese’s Pieces = done.

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How to Assemble these Owl Cupcakes

Step 1: Get out everything you need so it’s in front of you and handy. Nothing worse than opening drawers and doors with frosting-covered fingers lol. Sort the Reese’s Pieces into brown and orange piles.

Step 2: if you are using store-bought bakery cupcakes, you won’t need the frosting in this recipe, but you will need to remove most of it. A thin layer is just enough to hold on the cookies and candies, and it needs to stay flat. If you have made your own cupcakes, smooth the frosting all the way across the top of each cupcake in a thin layer so the top is flat. If your cupcakes are high-domed, you may need to slice off a bit of the cake top before adding the frosting so the decorations don’t slide off.

Step 3: With clean hands, carefully twist each cookie apart. The goal is to keep the side with the cream intact on one side. Set aside the bare cookies; we will be using them. Cream side up, press two of those cream halves onto each cupcake, side by side. See photos below.

Step 4: For the pupil, gently press a brown Reese’s Piece candy flat into the center of each cream circle. For the beak, push an orange candy sideways under the cookies, so it looks like it’s standing on its side. See photo.

Step 5: With a chef’s knife, gently cut in half the bare cookies we set aside in Step 3. Or just snap them in half gently with your hands. It’s ok if the break is imperfect, since the broken side will face down toward the cupcake. You can make a serious owl by making the cookies into a V shape at the center of the eyes (as shown below). Make a surprised owl face by keeping them straight across.

Tools and Equipment

• Offset spatula or butter knife
• Long or chef’s knife for cutting the Oreo wafers (optional)
• Muffin pan and paper liners, if you are baking the cupcakes from scratch
• Serving plate

Tips for Success

• Make as many owls as you need: Every 3 cupcakes needs 6 whole Oreos, 6 brown Reese’s Pieces, and 3 orange Reese’s Pieces.
• Separate the OREO halves slowly, since we want all the cream to land on one side only instead of half and half.
• If buying store-bought cupcakes, remove most of the frosting so only a thin layer remains. If frosting your own, add just enough to hold on the cookies and candies. A dome will cause everything to slide off.
• If your kitchen is warm, chill the cupcakes after frosting so it sets a little better and will hold the decorations without sliding.
• You can use either Double Stuf or regular OREOs, as long as the center cream is colored white.
• The cookies will eventually become soft as they sit on the frosting. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I recommend serving and eating these within 24 hours of assembling.

The bottom line

Aren’t these just the cutest? And it’s really only three or four ingredients, but every part of these Owl Cookies is delicious and fun. Check out some of our other characters here: Owl Crackers, Turkey Cookies made with OREOs, Frankenstein Rice Krispies Treats, and Monster Cupcakes too!