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Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cupcakes

 

Mickey Mouse and his Clubhouse gang were the centerpiece of the dessert table at my son’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 3rd birthday party.  Instead of trying to exactly duplicate the Clubhouse characters with detailed fondant and icing techniques I wanted to highlight certain iconic features of each personality to make simple yet recognizable characters.  I used chocolate and white cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream frosting and went back to the basics of decorating using candies and other sweets to create the characters.  I also made cupcake liners out of construction paper as the finishing touch for each character.

I’ve made “critter” cupcakes in the past using candies so I had a basic understanding of which candies work well for decorating.  In the months leading up to my son’s party I made many trips to the candy aisle at the grocery store to brainstorm ideas and I did a couple rounds of experimenting.  I also learned a few pearls of cupcake decorating wisdom from the New York Times Besteller What’s New, Cupcake? {Who knew that doughnut holes are perfect for building forms and that you can use a rolling pin to roll out tootsie rolls and starburst candies to form into decorative pieces ?!}  I did most of the fine-tuning, however, the night before the party as I made the cupcakes.

I have listed the candies that I used for each character but there is no magic formula.  If you have older kids, make a decorating party out of it and let them help select the candies and create the characters.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cupcakes
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6+
 
Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse! These Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cupcakes will be the star of your party.
Ingredients
  • Cupcakes
Buttercream Frosting
  • 3¾ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 Tbsp milk
Mickey Mouse Cupcakes
  • 2 Oreo cookies
  • 2 pretzel sticks
  • Crushed Oreo cookies
  • 1 large marshmallow
  • 2 large black jellybeans
  • Red and white construction paper
Minnie Mouse Cupcakes
  • 2 Oreo cookies
  • 2 pretzel sticks
  • Crushed Oreo cookies
  • 1 large marshmallow
  • 2 large black jellybeans
  • 2 bright pink or red Starburst candies
  • Pink and white construction paper
Donald Duck Cupcakes
  • 2-3 large marshmallows
  • 1 pretzel stick
  • 1 large black jellybean
  • Blue sugar sprinkles
  • 2 orange Starburst candies
  • Blue and red construction paper
Daisy Duck Cupcakes
  • 1 large marshmallow
  • 1 large black jellybean
  • Blue sugar sprinkles
  • 2 orange Starburst candies
  • 1 large lavendar or purple gumdrop candy
  • Lavedar or purple construction paper
Goofy Cupcakes
  • 2 large marshmallows
  • 2 large jellybeans
  • Bright green sugar sprinkles
  • Black gel icing
  • 3 pretzel sticks
  • 2 black licorice pieces, roughly 2-inch cylinders, such as Australia's Darrell Lea Soft Eating Liquorice Original
  • Crushed Oreo cookies
  • 2 small marshmallows
  • Blue and orange construction paper
Pluto Cupcakes
  • 1 large marshmallow
  • 2 large black jellybeans
  • 2 pretzel sticks
  • 2 black licorice pieces, roughly 2-inch cylinders, such as Australia's Darrell Lea Soft Eating Liquorice Original
  • Butterscotch chips
  • Chocolate gold coin
  • Green construction paper
Instructions
Buttercream Frosting
  1. Mix the ingredients and beat for several minutes until a smooth, creamy frosting forms.
  2. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk or powdered sugar if needed.
Mickey Mouse Cupcakes
  1. Scrape the filling out of the Oreos and put the plain cookies on a cutting board.
  2. Crush them using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer until they are in fine, even pieces.
  3. Pipe Mickey's forehead with white buttercream frosting. I referenced a head-on picture of Mickey Mouse's head when piping the forehead area that will be black.
  4. Dip the frosted forehead portion of the cupcake into the finely crushed Oreo cookies, ensuring that the frosting is completely covered.
  5. Then, using a round or star tip, pipe the rest of the cupcake with white buttercream frosting.
  6. Separate 2 Oreo cookies.
  7. Using the sides without the filling {so that they aren't as heavy}, secure a pretzel stick on the back of the cookie with icing and then insert the pretzel stick into the top of the cupcake, positioning the Oreo cookie "ear" in place.
  8. Repeat the process with the other ear.
  9. Cut the ends off of a large marshmallow and shape them into ovals for the eyes.
  10. Cut a large black jellybean in half lengthwise, frost the back of each half and position the halves in the marshmallow pieces for the eyes.
  11. Place a large black jellybean on the cupcake for the nose.
  12. Cut a band of red construction paper to wrap around the cupcake liner.
  13. Cut white circle buttons out of paper and tape them to the front of the red liner.
Minnie Mouse Cupcakes
  1. Scrape the filling out of the Oreos and put the plain cookies on a cutting board.
  2. Crush them using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer until they are in fine, even pieces.
  3. Pipe Minnie's forehead with white buttercream frosting. I referenced a head-on picture of Minnie Mouse's head when piping the forehead area that will be black.
  4. Dip the frosted forehead portion of the cupcake into the finely crushed Oreo cookies, ensuring that the frosting is completely covered.
  5. Then, using a round or star tip, pipe the rest of the cupcake with white buttercream frosting.
  6. Separate 2 Oreo cookies.
  7. Using the sides without the filling {so that they aren't as heavy}, secure a pretzel stick on the back of the cookie with icing and then insert the pretzel stick into the top of the cupcake, positioning the Oreo cookie "ear" in place.
  8. Repeat the process with the other ear.
  9. Cut the ends off of a large marshmallow and shape them into ovals for the eyes.
  10. Cut a large black jellybean in half lengthwise, frost the back of each half and position the halves in the marshmallow pieces for the eyes.
  11. Place a large black jellybean on the cupcake for the nose.
  12. Using a rolling pin, roll out one or two bright pink Starburst candies. You can microwave them for a few seconds to soften them and make them easier to roll out if need be.
  13. Cut out a bow and then fold over some of the excess candy to give the center of the bow some dimension.
  14. Pipe some white buttercream frosting polk-a-dots onto the bow and position it between Minnie's Oreo ears on the cupcake.
  15. Cut a band of pink construction paper to wrap around the cupcake liner.
  16. Cut white polk-a-dots out of paper and tape them on the pink band.
Donald Duck Cupcakes
  1. Using a round or star tip, pipe white buttercream frosting on the cupcake.
  2. Cut the ends off of a large marshmallow and shape them into ovals for the eyes.
  3. Dip the sticky side of each eye into bright blue sugar sprinkles.
  4. Cut a large black jellybean in half lengthwise, frost the back of each half and position the halves in the marshmallow pieces for the eyes.
  5. Using a rolling pin, roll out one or two orange Starburst candies until they are thin and pliable. You can microwave them for a few seconds to soften them and make them easier to roll out if need be.
  6. Shape the sheet of orange candy into a beak and position the beak on the cupcake.
  7. *Next time I would experiment with adding a hat {similar to Goofy's hat} done in Donald's colors.
  8. Gently stretch out a large marshmallow to shape it into Donald's hat. You can use two large marshmallows if that works better, remembering that the less you work with the marshmallows the better because they get really sticky.
  9. Ice the marshmallow hat with white buttercream frosting and dip it in bright blue sugar sprinkles.
  10. If desired, use black gel icing or rolled out licorice to make the black sash on Donald's hat.
  11. Insert a pretzel stick into the marshmallow and then stick the pretzel into the top of the cupcake, positioning the marshmallow hat on Donald's head.
  12. Cut a band of blue construction paper to wrap around the cupcake liner and place a red paper bow on the front.
Daisy Duck Cupcakes
  1. Using a round or star tip, pipe white buttercream frosting on the cupcake.
  2. Cut the ends off of a large marshmallow and shape them into ovals for the eyes.
  3. Dip the sticky side of each eye into bright blue sugar sprinkles.
  4. Cut a large black jellybean in half lengthwise, frost the back of each half and position the halves in the marshmallow pieces for the eyes.
  5. Using a rolling pin, roll out one or two orange Starburst candies until they are thin and pliable. You can microwave them for a few seconds to soften them and make them easier to roll out if need be.
  6. Shape the sheet of orange candy into a beak and position the beak on the cupcake.
  7. Using a rolling pin, roll out a large lavender-purple gumdrop candy and cut out Daisy's bow, wedging it into the cupcake above her eyes.
  8. Cut a band of lavendar-purple construction paper to wrap around the cupcake liner.
Goofy Cupcakes
  1. Scrape the filling out of the Oreos and put the plain cookies on a cutting board.
  2. Crush them using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer until they are in fine, even pieces.
  3. Pipe Goofy's forehead with white buttercream frosting. I referenced a head-on picture of Goofy's head when piping the forehead area that will be black.
  4. Dip the frosted forehead portion of the cupcake into the finely crushed Oreo cookies, ensuring that the frosting is completely covered.
  5. Ice the bottom of a plain doughnut hole and place it on the unfrosted part of the cupcake as Goofy's snout.
  6. Using a knife, fill in the gaps with frosting and make sure that the doughnut hole is securely attached.
  7. Place the cupcake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to allow the frosting to chill and the doughnut hole formation to set.
  8. Remove the cupcake from the freezer and using a round or star tip, pipe the rest of the cupcake and the nose with white buttercream frosting.
  9. Cut the ends off of a large marshmallow and shape them into ovals for the eyes.
  10. Cut a large black jellybean in half lengthwise, frost the back of each half and position the halves in the marshmallow pieces for the eyes.
  11. Place a large black jellybean on the cupcake for the nose.
  12. Ice the ends of two mini marshmallows and stick them onto the front of the cupcake for Goofy's teeth.
  13. Ice a large marshmallow with white buttercream frosting and dip it in bright green sugar sprinkles.
  14. Using black piping gel, ice a black line around the center of the hat.
  15. Insert a pretzel stick into the marshmallow and then stick the pretzel into the top of the cupcake, positioning the marshmallow hat on Goofy's head.
  16. Using a rolling pin, roll out two black licorice cylinders just enough to shape them into Goofy's ears.
  17. Use a skewer to poke a hole through the top end of each licorice piece.
  18. Insert a pretzel stick into the licorice and then stick the pretzel into the side of the cupcake, positioning the "ears" in place.
  19. Cut a band of blue construction paper to wrap around the cupcake liner.
  20. Cover the blue with a band of orange construction paper that is half the width of the blue band.
Pluto Cupcakes
  1. Spread a thin layer of white buttercream frosting over the cupcake.
  2. Ice the bottom of a plain doughnut hole and place it on the front of the cupcake as Pluto's snout.
  3. Using a knife, fill in the gaps with frosting and make sure that the doughnut hole is securely attached.
  4. Place the cupcake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to allow the frosting to chill and the doughnut hole formation to set.
  5. Pour butterscotch chips into a glass that is just a little wider than the cupcakes.
  6. Microwave the chips in 30 second intervals, stirring them well after each time, until they are runny and smooth. Be careful not to overcook the chips or they will become hard.
  7. Remove the cupcake from the freezer and dip it into the melted butterscotch chips, using a knife or a spoon to help completely cover the cupcake.
  8. Let any excess butterscotch drip off and then set the cupcake aside to allow the butterscotch to harden.
  9. Cut the ends off of a large marshmallow and shape them into ovals for the eyes.
  10. Cut a large black jellybean in half lengthwise, frost the back of each half and position the halves in the marshmallow pieces for the eyes.
  11. Place a large black jellybean on the cupcake for the nose.
  12. Using a rolling pin, roll out two black licorice cylinders just enough to shape them into Pluto's ears.
  13. Use a skewer to poke a hole through the top end of each licorice piece.
  14. Insert a pretzel stick into the licorice and then stick the pretzel into the side of the cupcake, positioning the "ears" in place.
  15. Cut a band of green construction paper to wrap around the cupcake liner and tape a gold wrapped chocolate coin on the front of the green band to resemble Pluto's dog collar.