For a Western-themed birthday party, these Cowboy Western Cupcakes are just what you need. In addition to being tasty, they look great with the cowboy hat, jeans, and bandana on top.
Ingredients: 1 box of chocolate cake mix. 3 eggs. 1/2 cup vegetable oil. 1 cup buttermilk. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. 1/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled. 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. 1/4 cup mini marshmallows. 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers. 1/4 cup crushed pretzels. 1/4 cup mini M&M's. Cowboy hat, jeans, and bandana cupcake toppers store-bought or homemade. Brown food coloring gel. White fondant. Black food coloring gel. Red food coloring gel.
Instructions: Warm up the oven to 350F 175C and put cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Put the chocolate cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and brewed coffee in a large bowl. Mix everything together well. Then add the mini chocolate chips and fill up each cupcake liner about two thirds of the way to the top. After the oven is hot, bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. After taking the cupcakes out of the oven, let them cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then, move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Make the cowboy hat, jeans, and bandana toppers out of white fondant and food coloring gels while the cupcakes cool. You can add color to the fondant as needed and shape it into the shapes you want. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, cover the tops with brown food coloring gel to make them look like leather. With a paintbrush, you can lightly brush the gel over the cupcakes to do this. On top of each cupcake, put a cowboy hat, jeans, or a bandana. To make each cupcake look like a cowboy, decorate them with mini marshmallows, crushed graham crackers, crushed pretzels, and mini M&Ms. As a finishing touch, use black and red food coloring gel to give the fondant toppers little details, like cowboy hat eyes and a smile. Now your Cowboy Western Cupcakes are ready to be eaten at your birthday party with a Western theme.
