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. Â We set up a fun family basketball bracket and get a little bit competitive. Â To add to the festivities, I always whip up a basketball themed recipe. I usually make an easy basketball cake. Â But this year we are making the switch to mini basketball cupcakes.
The cupcakes start with your favorite cupcake recipe. Â Chocolate goes well with the basketballs, but any flavor will work. Â I love lavender cupcakes for something different. Â Basic vanilla cupcakes would work, too. Â Just make sure to make them in to mini cupcakes. Â 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, Â 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.
Reeses’ Pieces Basketball Cake Recipe
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OREO Cookie Balls in Team Colors
Basketball Mini Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cake Mix
- Tub of Frosting, white
- Green Food Coloring
- Wilton Tip 233
- 1 bag Mini Oreos
- 1 bag Wilton Candy Melts, Orange
- 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Using your favorite chocolate cake recipe or a box mix, prepare, bake and cool mini muffins. One box made 48 mini muffins and 9 regular muffins. Bake for 8-10 minutes when making mini muffins.
- Dust off the mini cookies with a clean kitchen towel before covering them in candy melts. Melt 25 candy melts according to the package directions.
- Dip one OREO at a time in the candy melts and use a fork to cover the cookie entirely. 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 1/4 cup chocolate chips in the microwave in a bowl and place in a pastry bag with a writing tip, or a plastic storage bag with the corner cut. Pipe the chocolate onto the cookies and let dry.
- Add green food coloring to a tub of white frosting. Mix well until the desired color is achieved - about 30 drops of liquid food coloring.
- Place frosting into a piping bag (if desired) with a Wilton 233 tip. You can also spread the frosting on the cupcake with a knife.
- Pipe the frosting onto cupcakes and place a basketball cookie on top. It helps to 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.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 103Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 164mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 1g
Too cute to eat! Thanks for sharing it over at Food Friday. Excited to see what you’ll be sharing next! 🙂
I just pinned your awesome cupcakes! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
Your basketball cupcakes are so cute! Perfect for March Madness parties. Thank you for sharing your recipe at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope you will link up with us again next Friday!
These are really cute! My kids wouldn’t have known what to do if I’d made baked goods that looked this good. Thanks for sharing at Over the Moon.
Such a creative and fun idea! Love it 🙂 Thanks for joining us at the Family Joy blog link up party. Pinned 🙂
This idea is incredibly creative. The basketball themed cupcakes turned out really well.
It has been nothing but basketball, basketball, basketball here! My poor Dad and his Timberwolves!! 🙂
These are truly darling…maybe for Final Four!
Thanks for bringing this by to Throwback Thursday! 🙂
Mollie
Those are absolutely adorable! I can’t wait to give them a try!
Absolutely adorable! I am hoping to convince my son to watch a little of the tournament this year. Thanks for sharing on the Creative K Kids Tasty Tuesdays Linky Party. I hope you will join us again next week.
How adorable! This would be perfect for a party!
These are cute cupcakes! My little man likes basketball, so I might put these together for him soon.
Thank you! I love how cute they are, too!