How to Make Elmo Cupcakes

A few weeks ago it was my Mom’s birthday and in an effort to surprise her, I decided to make her Elmo cupcakes. At first I wasn’t sure how to approach it.. I saw lots of people making Cookie Monster cupcakes but rarely Elmo. For the Elmo cupcakes that I did find online, none of them looked that cute. What I ended up doing was researching a bunch of Elmo cupcakes and borrow elements I thought would work best and incorporate it in my design. The result? This 🙂

So what did I really need to make this? Aside from me being lazy and baking cupcakes from a cake mix, here are the other items you need to decorate your Elmo.

Tools

Wilton Decorating Tip 233/Ateco 133 (To pipe the fur)
Red (No Taste) Icing Color
White Chocolate Molding Wafers (For the eyes)
Chocolate Chips (For the pupil)
Orange Colored Peanut M&Ms (For the nose)
Oreo cookies (Just the Chocolate Wafer)

I used Buttercream icing for Elmo’s fur.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp of milk

In a large bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in vanilla.
Gradually beat in sugar 1 cup at a time until well incorporated. Scrape down sides if needed.
Slowly add the milk until icing reaches a smooth consistency. Add a generous amount of red gel food coloring until you achieve the color you’re looking for.
When ready, insert into piping bag and you’re done!

To pipe Elmo’s fur, just pipe in random criss cross strokes. leave icing hanging over the edge of the cupcake slightly to give the effect of longer looking fur. I gently warmed the bottom of the chocolate chips so it stuck on to the white chocolate wafers. I stuck it in the fridge for a few seconds to set it. Then I assembled the eyes and nose. For the mouth, I cut an Oreo in half, scraped the filling off, and flipped the wafer around so you can’t see the Oreo branding.

It’s that simple!