The Perfect Dessert for a Wild West-Themed Party: Cowboy Cupcakes!

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

These cowboy cupcakes are the perfect way to enjoy a bit of the Wild West without having to leave your home! These tasty treats are made with a simple vanilla cake recipe and are then topped with fun items to make them look like little cowboy hats.

This is a great dessert option for any Wild West-themed party, and your guests will love these delicious cupcakes. So, whip up a batch of these cowboy cupcakes and enjoy the taste of the Wild West today!

Have a Barnyard Party

You could use these cupcakes and a few different animal cupcakes we shared to make a complete barnyard!

Check these ideas out:

• How to Make Adorable and Easy Dog Cupcakes for Humans
• How to Make Lamb Cupcakes with Marshmallows
• How to Make the Cutest Cat Cupcakes
• How to Make Hoot Owl Cupcakes with Oreo Cookies

How to Make the Hay

Our cowboy hats are on a hay bed that tops each cupcake. We wanted to skip messing with shredded bark cereal like we used for our scarecrow cupcakes and make something smoother. It was really easy to do! Just toss 1 cup of shredded coconut with a little brown and yellow food color to make “hay,” and you are all set.

How do I make these adorable cupcakes?

The yellow cupcake base can be made from either a boxed mix or the following recipe:

Standard cupcakes recipe

A good yellow cupcake recipe for the base:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs at room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” cubes
• 1/2 cup milk – the higher the fat content, the better
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

How to make Yellow Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the shelf in the middle of the oven. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, matcha, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Place butter and milk in a microwave-safe dish and zap for 2 minutes on high to melt the butter.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs for 30 seconds on medium-high speed.

With the beater still going, pour the sugar in over 30 seconds.

Beat eggs for 6 minutes more on a highly faster speed, or until they tripled in volume and are almost pure white.

When the egg is whipped, scatter 1/3 flour across the surface, then beat on low for 5 seconds. Stop beating, add half the remaining flour, then mix on low for 5 seconds. Add remaining flour, then mix on Speed 1 for 5 – 10 sec until the flour is just mixed in. Once you can’t see flour, stop straight away.

Pour the hot milk/butter, vanilla, and oil into the empty flour bowl. Add about 3/4 cups of the Egg Batter into the hot milk. Use a whisk to mix until smooth. It should look kind of foamy.

With the beater on low still, pour the milk mixture into the Egg Batter over 10-15 seconds, then turn the beater off.

Fill your muffin tins with batter until they are 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

How to Make Cowboy Cupcakes

I will show you how to make them from a boxed cake mix but also talk about how to use the recipe above for the base of this Cupcake Recipe.

What you need for Cowboy Cupcakes :

• Yellow cake mix recipe
• White or brown frosting
• Pringles chips
• Regular size marshmallows
• Twizzlers peel and pull candy – red
• 4 oz melted chocolate

Cowboy Cupcake Tutorial

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the shelf in the middle of the oven. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Take your cake mix and add the ingredients it asks for. Fill your muffin tips cups 2/3 full of batter and bake per the box instructions.

Let them cool completely.

Decorating Your Cowboy Cupcakes

Bake your cupcakes per whatever recipe you choose and let cool completely.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stir until smooth, and place in a mug for dipping. If it is too thick, use a little coconut oil to thin the chocolate.

To make the hat, secure the marshmallow to pringle with a dab of melted chocolate, and let it set up before going to the next step. I do this for ALL the hats at this time.

Submerge the entire marshmallow and potato chip hat ( we used an egg dye wand ) in chocolate, and allow the excess chocolate to drain back into the cup. Place it on wax paper to set and dry.

To add texture to the hat, allow setting for a minute, then use fork prongs to create a straw look.

Add one strand of Twizzlers candy around the hat as shown.

Place the piping bag into a large glass and fold the sides of the bag over the rim of the glass. Scoop the frosting into the piping bag. Bring the pastry bag edges up and twist them together to start decorating. Add a 1 mm star tip to your bag.

If you don’t have a piping bag, try a plastic bag with the tip snipped off. Frost the cooled cupcakes.

Place the frosted cupcake upside down in the coconut to add hay.

Carefully place the hat on top of the hay.

FAQ:

How do I make Easy Cowboy Cupcakes

Use a dressed-up boxed cake mix.

How do you store Cowboy Cupcakes?

Here is the thing – with the more futzy designs, I like to make them in advance of an event or get-together. The best way to usually store your finished creations? Room Temperature.

Granted, they aren’t going to be around that long – my family of three could easily take them out in two to three days. Since you are using canned frosting instead of buttercream frosting or fondant, they should be fine for five to six days. The longer you wait to eat them, the higher the chances that your cowboy hats will get hard.

Other cupcake recipes you may like:

• Lemoncello Cupcakes: A Deliciously Tangy Treat
• Camo Cupcakes: How to Make the Perfect Army-Inspired Treats
• When Making Cupcakes: How Full to Fill the Liners
• Polar Bear Cupcakes: Adorable Treats for Your Winter Party
• Rudolph Cupcakes: A Delicious and Festive Holiday Treat