Each year, my kids and I choose one special dessert to make around Easter time. As they get older, that treat tends to include special breads like cranberry soda bread, Coffee Cake, and other less intensely sweet treats. One fun dessert we made when they were little was these Chocolate Cupcakes decorated to look like sheep. I don’t do complicated desserts, so believe me when I say that these are simple, fun, and delicious.
Small children can stick marshmallows onto icing to form fluffy wool, while older ones can help construct the sheep faces.
This project came about because one of my children was listening to a Bible story. When I asked them what type of dessert they’d like to make, she asked if we could make something that looked like a sheep. I did some searches, and gave them my ideas. They loved it, and…here we go! Sheep cupcakes! It’s not a healthy treat, but it is mostly made from scratch, plus we do not eat things like this very often.
They worked very hard and were so proud of the outcome. Notice in the picture that some have marshmallows and some were made with just icing for “wool”. We tried and loved both ways. It really just depends on your preference for marshmallows.
Tootsie rolls were cut and used for the face. I did the cutting, but they did the rest. Making the faces was very easy and they were able to stick them on and create and stick on the eyes and a nose all by themselves. As you can see in the picture, the icing is a little bit messy on their faces, but I’d rather let them do everything themselves instead of pushing for perfection.
Easter Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Easter Chocolate Cupcakes – marshmallows sheep
Equipment
- 12 muffin liners , optional
- 1 stand mixer , optional
- 1 icing piping set , optional
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- ¾ cup butter , softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup yogurt or sour cream
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Icing:
- 1 cup butter , softened
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound confectioner’s sugar
Decoration:
- 16 ounces marshmallows
- 1 container assorted sprinkles to make eyes and nose
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease muffin pan or prepare muffin liners.
- Combine softened butter, sugar, eggs, homemade vanilla extract, and yogurt in a bowl and blend until fluffy.
- Combine cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before Icing.
To Decorate:
- To assemble, add icing in a small layer so that marshmallows will stick. Leave an area without marshmallows in the front for the head.
- Slice tootsie rolls in half. One half is the head. The other half should be cut into 4 long pieces. Use two pieces for ears and another piece for the tail.
- Add sprinkles for eyes and nose. Use icing to make the sprinkles stick. This was the tricky part for the kids, but they managed.
How to Decorate the Cupcakes
Make the Icing
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 tsp Homemade Vanilla Extract
- 1 lb confectioner’s sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
Directions:
- Whip butter in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
- Add vanilla and milk.
- Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar as you blend. If the icing is too runny, add some more confectioner’s sugar. If you think it is too dry, add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time with blending in between additions.
- Ice cupcakes and add marshmallows, or if you are using icing to make the wool without marshmallows, pipe icing in a wool design.
Add candies as shown
- Flat round sprinkles for eyes
- chocolate sprinkles for eye balls
- tootsie rolls for head, ears, tail
- marshmallows for body, if desired
Directions:
- To assemble, add icing in a small layer on top of cooled cupcakes so that the marshmallows will stick. Leave an area without marshmallows in the front for the sheep’s head.
- Slice tootsie rolls in half. One half is the head. The other half should be cut into 4 long pieces. Use two pieces for ears and another piece for the tail.
- Add sprinkles for eyes and nose. Use icing to make the sprinkles stick. This was the tricky part for the kids, but they managed.
If you’d like another Easter dessert idea, last year we made Easter Bird’s Nest Cupcakes. They were very simple and a lot of fun. Use toasted coconut or different colored icing to jazz up the bird’s nest. There are also different colored speckled eggs to add a little bit of variety. Have fun!
