These Grinch cupcakes are my favorite whimsical Christmas dessert to make with my kiddos. Using a simple boxed cake mix and store-bought frosting, we can whip up a batch of cute Grinch decorated cupcakes in no time. Perfect for holiday parties, classroom treats, or family baking fun, they’re easy, festive, and guaranteed to bring smiles (and a little mischief) to your table.
Cute Grinch Themed Cupcakes for Christmas
This recipe keeps things simple while still looking impressive. Neon green food coloring gives the cupcakes and frosting that signature Grinchy hue, and yellow Reese’s Pieces candies (or M&Ms) create expressive eyes. With a bit of patience, piping on little Santa hats and mischievous eyebrows transforms basic cupcakes into Christmas Grinch cupcakes everyone will love. White cake mix and frosting provide a blank canvas for the colors to really shine.
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Keep Frosting Firm for Detailed Decorations
For Grinch decorated cupcakes that really pop, slightly chill the frosting before piping. Firm frosting holds its shape, ensuring eyebrows, eyes, and hats stay crisp and defined. A short 10-15 minute chill is all it takes to ensure the Grinch looks mischievous, not messy!
Grinch Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- 2 Cupcake Tin(s)
- Hand Mixer
- Piping Tip Set
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces white cake mix (1 box)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup milk room temperature
- ½ cup salted butter melted (1 stick)
- Neon green food coloring *
- 32 ounces white frosting (2 tubs)
- ¼-½ cup powdered sugar
- 48 yellow Reese’s Pieces
- Red food coloring
- 0.67 ounces black decorating icing (1 tube)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two 12-count cupcake tins with white or green paper cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand whisk, beat the cake mix, large eggs, milk and melted butter together until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.15.25 ounces white cake mix, 3 large eggs, 1 cup milk, ½ cup salted butter
- Mix in some neon green food coloring, until you get a nice grinchy green color.Neon green food coloring
- Scoop the cupcake batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling each liner about ⅔ of the way full of batter.
- Bake for 19-23 minutes, or until the tops bounce back when tapped and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.
- To assemble your grinch cupcakes, stir green food coloring into one of the tubs of frosting until you get a color that matches the cupcakes.32 ounces white frosting
- Place the green frosting and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to beat them together until combined and thick. The frosting should hold its shape when piped. If it starts to sag instead, add more powdered sugar.¼-½ cup powdered sugar
- Scoop the frosting into a piping bag with a 2A Wilton piping tip and pipe a swirl of green frosting on each of the cupcakes. This will be the Grinch head so it shouldn’t be huge but you do want it to cover the cupcake and be large enough for the eyes and a hat.
- Place two yellow Reese’s pieces on the bottom front of each of the green frosted cupcakes. These will be the eyes.48 yellow Reese’s Pieces
- Scoop about ¾ cup of white frosting into a piping bag with a #22 Wilton piping tip and set to the side for now.
- Add red food coloring to the rest of the white icing until you have a rich, Christmas red color.Red food coloring
- Place the red frosting in a piping bag with a #12 Wilton piping tip and use it to pipe Santa hats onto the top of each Grinch head, slightly back from the eyes. The hat should not cover the whole top and should leave room for the white piping around it.
- Use the white frosting to pipe around the hat and a dollop on the top.
- Use the black decorating icing to pipe on irises and eyebrows above the eyes. If needed, you can put the eyebrows on the white outline on the hat.0.67 ounces black decorating icing
- Enjoy your Grinch cupcakes!
Notes
- If you don’t have neon green food coloring, you can make your own by adding 2-3 drops of blue food coloring with 15-20 drops of yellow food coloring. Adjust as necessary.
- Keep in mind that food coloring gets darker as it sits, so let it sit in the batter (and the frosting, too!) for a few minutes before adjusting.
- For a dye-free version, bake up a batch of my favorite matcha cupcakes.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion the batter. This ensures the cupcakes bake evenly, preventing some from being over- or undercooked.
- Rotate the cupcakes halfway through baking so that they bake evenly.
- Be sure to allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating them.
- Avoid letting the frosting get too warm. If your frosting has been sitting out and seems to be very soft, you may want to refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes so that it doesn’t slide off of your cupcake while you are decorating.
- Make one color of frosting at a time and then pipe it on the cupcakes before mixing your next color. This will ensure that you have enough icing in each color run out, you can use some of the plain icing from the other tubs to make more. This will ensure you have enough plain white icing to mix up more of a color if you don’t have enough.
- If you don’t have a piping tip set, use Ziplock bags instead. Cut different-sized holes in the corner of each bag for the size of frosting you’d like to pipe.
- Pipe the black eyebrows so that they slant inward. This will make the Grinch look meaner!
How to Make Grinch Cupcakes Step-by-Step
Prepare the Cake Mix: Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two 12-count cupcake tins with white or green paper cupcake liners. In a large mixing bowl, using a whisk or hand mixer, beat 15.25 ounces (1 box) of white cake mix, 3 large eggs, 1 cup of milk, and ½ cup of melted salted butter together until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Take care not to overmix the batter, or your cupcakes will turn out dense and dry. Mix just until there are no dry flour spots.
Color the Batter: Mix in some neon green food coloring, until you get a nice grinchy green color. I recommend adding just a little at t a time and waiting a minute or two before adding more, as food coloring tends to darken as it sits.
Portion the Cupcakes: Scoop the cupcake batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling each liner about ⅔ of the way full of batter. I like to do this with a cookie portions scoop or a ¼-cup measuring cup so they all turn out the same size.
Bake the Cupcakes: Bake your green cupcakes in the preheated oven for 19-23 minutes, or until the tops bounce back when tapped and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating to ensure the frosting doesn’t melt off.
Mix the Frosting: To assemble your Grinch cupcakes, stir green food coloring into 16 ounces (1 tub) of white frosting until you get a color that matches the cupcakes. Place the green frosting and ¼-½ cup of powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to beat them together until combined and thick. The frosting should hold its shape when piped. If it starts to sag instead, add more powdered sugar.
Pipe the Grinch Heads: Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 2A Wilton piping tip and pipe a swirl of green frosting on each of the cupcakes. This will be the Grinch head so it shouldn’t be huge but you do want it to cover the cupcake and be large enough for the eyes and a hat.
Color the Frosting: Place two yellow Reese’s pieces on the bottom front of each of the green frosted cupcakes. These will be the eyes. Scoop about ¾ cup of white frosting from the remaining 16-ounce tub into a piping bag with a #22 Wilton piping tip and set to the side for now. Add red food coloring to the rest of the white icing until you have a rich, Christmas red color.
Pipe the Hats: Place the red frosting in a piping bag fitted with a #12 Wilton piping tip and use it to pipe Santa hats onto the top of each Grinch head, slightly back from the eyes. The hat should not cover the whole top and should leave room for the white piping around it. Use the white frosting to pipe around the hat and a dollop on the top.
Decorate the Faces: Use a 0.67-ounce tube of black decorating icing to pipe on irises and eyebrows above the eyes. If needed, you can put the eyebrows on the white outline on the hat. Enjoy your Grinch cupcakes!
How to Store and Freeze
Store leftover frosted Grinch cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If you’d like to freeze them, I recommend leaving off the frosting, as it tends to melt/weep as it thaws. Let the cupcakes thaw at room temperature before decorating and enjoying.
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