Spooked at the thought of all the Halloween temptations we are about to experience at the scariest season of the year?
Well you need not fear – these Spooky Spider Cupcakes are lighter on the waistline, and are sure to be all the fright at your next Halloween party.
The cupcakes themselves are made with just THREE ingredients: boxed cake mix, canned pumpkin and WATER! The topping is a chocolate glaze, just a smear - just enough to help the sprinkles and eyeballs adhere to the cupcake.
And the verdict in my house, everyone thought they were SPOOK-tacular!
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Spooky Spider Cupcakes
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 18 • Size: 1 cupcake • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4*
Calories: 139.5 • Fat: 3.5 g • Carb: 26 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 1.5 g • Sugar: 17 g
Sodium: 291 mg
Ingredients:
- 16.5 oz Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake mix
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp canned 100% pure pumpkin
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
- 4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp 1% milk, plus 1 tsp if needed
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the toppings:
- 6 tbsp chocolate sprinkles
- black string licorice, cut into 2 inch strips (Wilton)
- Wilton eyeball candy
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cupcake tin with 18 cupcake liners.
Combine pumpkin puree and water in a large bowl; mix to combine. Add chocolate cake mix and beat 2 minutes. (Be sure the cake mix is 16.5 oz or you'll have to adjust the other ingredients)
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes.
For the glaze combine all dry ingredients, add vanilla and 1 tbsp milk, adding 1/4 tsp more at a time if needed until smooth.
Place sprinkles in a bowl.
To add legs, poke holes with a bamboo stick, then insert. Can be made the night before. Makes 18.
*Nutritional info includes everything except eyes and legs.


























Where did you find the Wilton decorating kit? These look perfect for a kids Halloween playdate next week!
ReplyDeleteI got them at Michaels
Delete@ Rosie - Wilton decorating supplies can usually be found at Michael's craft stores or you might try Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteAww so cute!
ReplyDeleteCan you use other flavored cake mixes - will the ingredients still work the same?
ReplyDeleteYes, whatever flavor you wish!
DeleteSpice Cake mix is excellent! I also add a dash of pumpkin pie spice. The batter is super thick, so I add about 3/4 C unsweetened almond milk (skim milk works okay, too). I also add dark chocolate chips. I typically get 19 cupcakes from this recipe. I've been making it for years (with chocolate cake mix). With the addition of ingredients, it may very slightly change the calories, but divided 19 ways, I don't think the impact will be significant.
DeleteDoes this have a pumpkiny taste to it? It sounds like a great idea, but I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin.
ReplyDeleteI am NOT a fan of pumpkin. Do these taste pumkiny? What else can I use?
ReplyDeletenot at all....
DeleteNo, they just taste moist.
DeleteAre these mini cupcakes?
ReplyDeleteNo, normal sized cupcakes.
DeleteIn my opinion, pumpkin has virtually no taste. It's the mix of added spices that give it that "pumpkiny" taste that we are accustomed to in pies, coffee and other foods. I have made the cake mix & canned pumpkin muffins/cupcakes and they did not have a pumpkin flavor to them.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, it's all the spices added that give pumpkin a pumpkin taste. These just taste like chocolate.
DeleteWOoo... These look cute! I like the 2nd pic :)
ReplyDeleteThis is just too cute! And definitely spook-tacular! Thanks for the awesome tutorial - I'll definitely be giving these a try!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I will be making these for the Halloween carnival!
ReplyDeleteDoes it impact the points if you leave out the eyes and licorice? What if you left out the sprinkles too?
ReplyDeleteThe licorice and eyes are not calculated as I mentioned above.
DeleteWhere can I get the black shoestring licorice? I haven't been able to find it anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThey sell it at Michaels, Wilton brand.
DeleteI found it at Super Target! The candy eyes also.
DeleteI am SO excited to make these for my son's preschool Halloween party! Thanks for the recipe!!
ReplyDeleteThese are so stinkin' cute.
ReplyDeleteI do this but with one can of pumpkin and nothing else. But I too am wondering about the point system..But they are so moist and chocolate very very good. I do not frost them...so good
ReplyDeleteThese are so cute. My daughter would pitch a fit if I made them. She's 18 and still terrified of spiders. I've been told not to pull any funny business for halloween. This tempts me big time.
ReplyDeleteCan I use skim milk or almond milk instead of 1%?
ReplyDeleteSure!
DeleteOhhh goood work... i liked
ReplyDeleteSo cute!!
ReplyDeleteLove these cupcakes- so cute!
ReplyDeleteSO glad you posted this! A few weeks ago my cousin made some yellow cupcakes with pumpkin and I just could not believe how delicious they were. I prefer them to regular box mix cupcakes! We actually ate them without icing, warm out of the oven. But while driving home, I thought "those would be perfect with a little chocolate glaze on top" and then I kind of forgot to ever try it. So, thanks for reminding me! Great minds, etc.! I'm thinking some chocolate chips or sprinkles mixed in might be a great little extra, too...
ReplyDeleteHi, these look delicious! What could I substitute the canned pumpkin for to get a similar result? I live in South Africa and we don't have canned pumpkin here. Thanks for a great blog!
ReplyDeleteApple sauce is commonly used as a sub in cake mixes. You could also try your hand at making the puree possibly of sweet potatoes.
DeleteThose are SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!! :D
ReplyDeleteKind of spooky, but delicious at the same time!
ReplyDeleteWith the holidays coming up, I just thought I'd share this link I found. This newsletter I subscribe to is putting on a recipe contest for the holidays. I'm sure ST readers could whip up some great ideas!
Link for those interested: https://apps.facebook.com/whcontests/the-natural-knowledge-247-holiday-recipe-contest
Do you know what the pumkin and water amounts would be with a box of cake mix that is 15.25oz?
ReplyDeleteI made these with w 15.25 oz box yesterday, and they came out perfect!
DeleteThese are so good. I made these before with 1 can of pumpkin and cake mix but these were so much better,a lot more moist, wilth the pumpkin/ water combo. Everyone liked them and no one even would guess they had pumpkin in them.
ReplyDeleteI only have a cake mix with 15.25 oz. How does this affect the recipe?
ReplyDeleteI made these today and they were absolutely fabulous! So moist! I couldn't believe how tasty they were! Also target is selling a kit right now with the eyes, legs and festive cupcake tins if anyone is interested. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteQuestion - do you just add the cake mix powder? Or do you add the all the ingredients that go with the cake as well - like oil and eggs? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteCan I make the cupcakes and decorate today for tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteThese are the cutest spooky cupcakes I have ever seen .. They would be perfect for a Halloween party!
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I have made these twice now, they are fantastic! The first time, I did them as stated for my son's class. The second time, I adapted the recipe to do Turkey Cupcakes (used pretzels for feathers, vanilla wafer for face and did the eyeball candy, 1/2 a yellow mike and ike for the beak, 1/2 a craisin for the "gobbler" and ends of orange mike and ikes for the feet... I didn't include any of the decorations in the point count, they were just fun! Thanks for a fun recipe!
ReplyDeleteWould this be hard to make as a complete cake in a springform pan texture-wise? If I floured it enough, would it come out?
ReplyDelete