A cookie monster themed birthday party is such a fun idea! Sesame Street has adorable, sweet characters that kids and adults adore. Having a themed dessert can really help bring together the whole party. The great news is that these cookie monster cupcakes are not that hard to make at home!
You might also want to check out this recipe on how to make a Cookie Monster cake! At the end of this page, you’ll find a full printable recipe sheet with ingredients for these cupcakes.
Check out this free printable baby’s 1st birthday checklist for more party ideas!
- Ingredients
- One box chocolate cake mix
- Three eggs
- ½ cup oil
- One cup water
- 1 cup Butter
- 4 cups Icing sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tsp Heavy cream or milk
- Blue food coloring
- Black food coloring
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Mini marshmallows
- Materials
- Bowls
- Spoons
- Piping bags
- Grass piping tip
- Parchment paper
- Cupcake pans
- Cupcake liners
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
How to make Cookie Monster cupcakes
Bake cake
For cookie monster cupcakes, I recommend using chocolate cake mix. You can use your favorite brand of cake mix or your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.
Mix together 3 eggs, ½ a cup of vegetable oil and one cup of water with one box of chocolate cake mix (or your dry ingredients) in a bowl. Fill your cupcake baking tin with cupcake liners and then spoon the cake mix in until each liner is about ¾ full.
Bake your cupcakes for 16-20 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit, depending on your cake mix instructions and oven. Take your cupcakes out of the cupcake pan and allow them to completely cool on a wire rack before you start decorating them. Cold cupcakes are much easier to decorate! Try popping your cupcakes in the fridge for 10 minutes before frosting them.
Make frosting
Make your vanilla buttercream frosting with 1 cup of butter and about 4.5 cups of icing sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of cream or whole milk. Blend it in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer until it’s fully mixed and no sugar crystals remain.
Add in 4 blue drops of food coloring and blend it again to make sure the color is well mixed. Scoop out a small amount (2-3 tablespoons) of your blue buttercream frosting into a separate bowl and add black food coloring that you’ll use for the eye pupils later.
How to make Cookie Monster cupcake eyes
To make the eyes of your Cookie Monster cupcakes, use mini marshmallows and black icing. I put about 2 tablespoons of black icing in a piping bag with a small, round size 2 piping tip to draw on the frosting ‘pupils’. The eyes should look in different directions to give your Cookie Monster cupcake a ‘googly’ look.
Frost cupcakes
Just before you frost your cupcakes, use a sharp knife to add a slit in the top of the cupcake for the cookie to rest in later!
Use piping tip #233, a grass tip, to give your Cookie Monster cupcakes a shaggy look. Fill your piping bag ½ full with blue icing. If your bag is too full it can be hard to get the right amount of pressure to use this piping tip correctly.
Start at the bottom of your cupcake, working your way around the whole thing to put layers of shaggy frosting on your Cookie Monster cake. Squeeze, gently press into the cupcake, continue squeezing, then pull away gently to create the fur. Stop squeezing and pull away from the cupcake. The longer you pull away from the cupcake, the longer the blue frosting fur will be. Take breaks if your hands get sore during this step. Work your way slowly towards the middle.
Decorate your Cookie Monster cupcake
Once your cupcake is covered in bright blue frosting fur, add your chocolate chip cookie.
Once your cookie is placed in the slit you cut on the top of your cupcake, use a bit more blue frosting to touch up the Cookie Monster’s fur.
For the cookie monster’s eyes, I used mini marshmallows and black frosting with a #2 small round piping tip.
You can see in my photos what it looks like when you use mini chips ahoy cookies vs when you cut a large chocolate chip cookie in half and use that instead.
Cookie Monster cupcake cake tips
- If you can’t get your grass tip to work, take it off and poke through the holes with a toothpick to make sure they are clear.
- If your piping bag is breaking or you can’t get enough pressure to make your grass tip work properly, your frosting might be too thick or too cold. Try letting it sit on your counter longer or it will warm with your hands as you work with it.
- To thin out your frosting if it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of cream at a time. If you accidentally add too much liquid, just add more powdered sugar.
- I used Wilton Food Coloring and although it did dye my hands, the blue color washed off easily after a soak in warm water.
- You can store the Cookie Monster cupcakes in an airtight container for a day or two before they start to get stale.
Other common Cookie Monster Cupcake questions
What piping tip do you use for Cookie Monster Cupcakes?
Use piping tip #233, a grass tip, to make the frosting for Cookie Monster cakes and cupcakes look like blue fur. If you don’t have a grass tip, try using a large star tip.
How do you make Cookie Monster eyes for cake?
For small Cookie Monster cupcakes, use marshmallows and chocolate icing for the eyes. You can also use large candy eyes from a bulk food store, grocery store or craft supply store. For a large Cookie Monster cake, you can use white chocolate melts, cookies and black candy melts as the pupils. Check out my Cookie Monster cake tutorial for more details.
Should I use mini chocolate chip cookies or big ones for Cookie Monster Cupcakes?
For regular sized Cookie Monster cupcakes, use a big chocolate chip cookie cut in half for Cookie Monster’s mouth. For mini Cookie Monster cupcakes, use mini chocolate chip cookies.
What type of cake should I use for Cookie Monster Cupcakes?
The majority of the cupcake is going to be covered up with blue frosting, so you can really use whatever type of cake batter you’d like for a Cookie Monster cupcake. However, classic chocolate cupcakes will look best under the frosting in places that you can see through.
Final Cookie Monster Cupcake Thoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed these adorable Cookie Monster cupcakes! Not only are they so much fun to make, but they’re a guaranteed hit with children and adults alike. They are the perfect dessert for a Cookie Monster themed birthday or baby shower and even a Sesame Street birthday party with all your favorite characters. For the cookie monsters in your life, you might also love this recipe for Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies.
Save this recipe to your Pinterest for later, or send it to a friend who’s planning a Cookie Monster themed party!
Adorable Cookie Monster Cupcakes
Equipment
- bowls
- spoons
- piping bags
- Grass piping tip
- Parchment paper
- Cupcake pans
- cupcake liners
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- One box chocolate cake mix
- 3 Eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Butter
- 4 cups Icing sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tsp Heavy cream or milk
- Blue food coloring
- Black food coloring
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Mini marshmallows
Instructions
Bake cake
- For cookie monster cupcakes, I recommend using chocolate cake mix. You can use your favorite brand of cake mix or your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.
- Mix together 3 eggs, ½ a cup of vegetable oil and one cup of water with one box of chocolate cake mix (or your dry ingredients) in a bowl. Fill your cupcake baking tin with cupcake liners and then spoon the cake mix in until each liner is about ¾ full.
- Bake your cupcakes for 16-20 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit, depending on your cake mix instructions and oven. Take your cupcakes out of the cupcake pan and allow them to completely cool on a wire rack before you start decorating them. Cold cupcakes are much easier to decorate! Try popping your cupcakes in the fridge for 10 minutes before frosting them.
Make frosting
- Make your vanilla buttercream frosting with 1 cup of butter and about 4.5 cups of icing sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of cream or whole milk. Blend it in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer until it’s fully mixed and no sugar crystals remain.
- Add in 4 blue drops of food coloring and blend it again to make sure the color is well mixed. Scoop out a small amount (2-3 tablespoons) of your blue buttercream frosting into a separate bowl and add black food coloring that you’ll use for the eye pupils later.
How to make Cookie Monster cupcake eyes
- To make the eyes of your Cookie Monster cupcakes, use mini marshmallows and black icing. I put about 2 tablespoons of black icing in a piping bag with a small, round size 2 piping tip to draw on the frosting ‘pupils’. The eyes should look in different directions to give your Cookie Monster cupcake a ‘googly’ look.
Frost cupcakes
- Just before you frost your cupcakes, use a sharp knife to add a slit in the top of the cupcake for the cookie to rest in later!
- Use piping tip #233, a grass tip, to give your Cookie Monster cupcakes a shaggy look. Fill your piping bag ½ full with blue icing. If your bag is too full it can be hard to get the right amount of pressure to use this piping tip correctly.
- Start at the bottom of your cupcake, working your way around the whole thing to put layers of shaggy frosting on your Cookie Monster cake. Squeeze, gently press into the cupcake, continue squeezing, then pull away gently to create the fur. Stop squeezing and pull away from the cupcake. The longer you pull away from the cupcake, the longer the blue frosting fur will be. Take breaks if your hands get sore during this step. Work your way slowly towards the middle.
Decorate your Cookie Monster cupcake
- Once your cupcake is covered in bright blue frosting fur, add your chocolate chip cookie. You can see in my photos what it looks like when you use mini chips ahoy cookies vs when you cut a large chocolate chip cookie in half and use that instead.
- Once your cookie is placed in the slit you cut on the top of your cupcake, use a bit more blue frosting to touch up the Cookie Monster’s fur.
- For the cookie monster’s eyes, I used mini marshmallows and black frosting with a #2 small round piping tip.
