Mini basketball cupcakes are fun and easy to make! You won’t believe what the basketball is made with!

One of our favorite times of the year are the college basketball play offs.  We set up a fun family basketball bracket and get a little bit competitive.  To add to the festivities, I always whip up a basketball themed recipe. I usually make an easy basketball cake.  But this year we are making the switch to mini basketball cupcakes.

The cupcakes start with your favorite cupcake recipe.  Chocolate goes well with the basketballs, but any flavor will work.  I love lavender cupcakes for something different.  Basic vanilla cupcakes would work, too.  Just make sure to make them in to mini cupcakes.  Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, it’s time to make the basketballs.

For the basketballs you will need a package of mini-OREO cookies (or really any mini cookie), Wilton candy melts in orange, and a bag of chocolate chips.

Dust off the OREOS with a clean kitchen towel before covering them in candy melts. Melt 25 candy melts according to the package directions.  I love my chocolate melter for recipes like this.  Dip one OREO at a time in the candy melts and use a fork to cover the cookie entirely. Don’t flip them over – just use the fork to cover all of the cookie. After the cookie is covered, slide the fork under the cookie and allow the excess to drip off.  Place the cookies on a clean work surface covered with parchment or wax paper.  Fifty candy melts covered about 40 cookies.  Let set to dry.

Melt chocolate chips and place in a pastry bag with a writing tip, or a storage bag with the corner cut. Pipe the chocolate onto the orange covered cookies. Let dry.

Don’t get discouraged when your basketballs don’t look like the photo shown. You may get crazy “fly aways” from your stripes. If that’s the case, back track on the stripes. Draw one stripe then go back over it so the little fly away sits on top of the stripe you just drew. Then it will be nice and clean.

Frost the cupcakes with green frosting.  About 30 drops of liquid food coloring add to a tub of white frosting should do the trick. Either pipe the frosting on with a Wilton 233 tip or just spread the frosting on the cupcake with a knife.

Just before placing the cookies on top of the cupcakes,  rub the round edges on the parchment paper to remove the excess hardened candy melt. Don’t push too hard on the face/stripes or they will fall off.

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