Adorable Pretzel Skeleton Cupcakes For Halloween

These pretzel skeleton cupcakes are the perfect Halloween treat for your party table. This spine-chilling dessert takes minimal effort and looks amazing for any occasion.

You can use premade cupcakes and cut down the decorating drastically (store-bought or homemade cupcakes). I will tell you – these are going to be a massive hit with everyone!

RELATED READING: Make This Drool-Worthy, Elegant Halloween Cupcake

Easy Skeleton Cupcakes

Here at Ruffles and Rain Boots, I am always ready for a baking or decorating challenge. And when I saw someone make pretzel skeletons for Hallowee, I knew exactly how I’d incorporate them into my passion: sharing cupcake recipes and decorating ideas.

These easy skeleton cupcakes are a perfect fit for your Halloween festivities. Whether you are celebrating at home, the office, school, or a party at your favorite haunt, this has you covered to impress everyone!

If you need time to gather your pretzels, marshmallows, and other ingredients for this pretzel skeleton cupcakes for Halloween recipe, bookmark this page to make it easier when you are ready to create these adorable skeletons.

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RELATED READING: Make These CUTE Ghost Cupcakes for Kids

Why You Should Make This Halloween Cupcake Idea

We could not think of a better project for the kids than to help you put the skeletons together on each cupcake. They can even draw the faces on the large marshmallows!

It’s good for younger kids, too. Because we have used premade cupcakes, the kids are ready to go as soon as you call them to the table.

If you skip the first few steps for dipping the pretzels in the melted chocolate, you can save even more time. Read our tips section below for our suggestions for an alternative to that portion of the recipe.

RELATED READING: Frankenstein Cupcakes Recipe for Halloween (Kid-Friendly)

Tips for Making Pretzel Skeleton Cupcakes

• If you don’t want to dip pretzels in melted chocolate for this recipe, buy a bag of yogurt or white chocolate-covered pretzels.
• Make sure to use food-safe pens like these to create the faces on these fun Halloween cupcakes for kids. If you want, you can also use melted milk chocolate.
• If you want to add a bit of height difference between the mini marshmallow and the pretzel, showing more of the “rib cage”, you can use two of the smaller marshmallows.
• If you do not have parchment paper for the dipped pretzels to set, you can place a wire cooling rack on a baking sheet and the excess chocolate will drip down into the pan and will set well.

Ingredients for Pretzel Skeleton Cupcakes

Below are the ingredients we used to make these spooktacular skeleton cupcakes. Before you head to the store for supplies, check your pantry, fridge, and cupcake decorating bin to see what you have on hand.

Read the tips section above for information on alternatives to using parchment paper for the dipped pretzels.

• Prebaked cupcake
• Vanilla frosting
• Crushed Oreo cookies
• Standard size marshmallow
• Black food writing pen
• Lollipop stick
• Mini marshmallows
• Small pretzel twists
• Almond bark or white candy melts
• Parchment paper

How To Make A Skeleton Cupcake for Halloween

Each step for this recipe tutorial is detailed below to make it easy to put together. Keep this page open while you are creating your Halloween cupcakes. If you would rather have a printable recipe, select the print button below or save as a PDF.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the almond bark or candy melts in 30-second increments in the microwave, stirring after each to prevent burning.

Using a fork, slowly and carefully dip a pretzel into the melted mixture. Slide the pretzel onto the parchment paper, using a second fork, keeping it level with the sheet to set.

Repeat with the remaining pretzels.

Spread one spoonful of frosting in an even layer on the top of the cupcake. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes (we made 12). Let the frosting set up for a few minutes.

Once the cupcakes are all frosted and have sat to dry slightly, dip them into the crushed Oreo cookies. Why? Because skeletons don’t come out of a nice clean bed, do they?

Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Using a black food-safe pen, draw a face on the larger-sized marshmallows and set aside to dry. You can make them smile, frown or even look scared. Anything is possible with these little boneheads.

Repeat drawing faces on the remaining standard-size marshmallows.

Slide a mini marshmallow onto a lollipop stick. Slide it almost all the way down but leave enough space to bury it in the cupcake’s center.

Insert the lollipop stick into the middle of the cupcake, followed by a covered pretzel. Repeat twice.

Add a marshmallow with a face on it to the top. Your skeleton army is almost complete!

Repeat the above steps for each skeleton cupcake you would like to make. Have fun and enjoy this spooky treat!

Notes for Making Skeleton Cupcakes

• To crush the Oreo cookies, we used a few simple methods. You can place them in a plastic bag, let the excess air out, and use a rolling pin or the bottom of a glass. You can also use a food processor and use the puree or chop button.
• For this recipe, you can buy canned frosting, or you can save some money and make our Easy Buttercream Frosting Recipe. It tastes so much better than store-bought!
• If you are looking for a super easy and delicious cupcake recipe, we have two for you! You can make our Lazy Girl’s Vanilla Cupcake Recipe or our chocolate cupcake recipe.
• You can prebake your cupcakes up to a week before you are ready to decorate them. If the cupcakes are frosted, you must use them within 2-4 days.

More Spooky Treats You May Enjoy

• Halloween Cupcakes – Easier Than They Look: It is time to flex your baking skills and make these gorgeous Halloween cupcakes. Even if you have only been baking for a short time, we will walk you through the process of making these stunning treats.
• Halloween Cupcakes – Recipes from Spooky to Sweet! We found some of our favorites among the deliciously spooky cupcakes in our recipe box. You can find everything from our cute Frankenstein cupcakes to cute ghost cupcakes. We are also sharing some of our favorite snack ideas for Halloween from the web. Take a look at the adorable cauldron cupcakes and the easy Halloween fudge.
• Spun Sugar Spider Web Cupcakes – A Fun Halloween Treat! We love this cupcake recipe. It includes how to easily make spun sugar and includes a fun spider ring for a party favor. This dessert will be very popular among your party guests.
• Halloween Party Cupcake Ideas: We are sharing lots of fun cupcake ideas for you to try this Halloween. Some of our favorites include the monster eye cupcakes (the kiddo’s favorite) and I especially love the witch’s hat cupcakes.

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