Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (2024)

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I am on a dessert kick and I just can’t help it! This time of year has me thinking about desserts more than normal which takes crazy to whole new level. This Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix is all sorts of amazing. Add them to your dessert rotation and watch faces light up. Keep scrolling to see how I get all of the flavors packed into a cookie.

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Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (1)

We all know and love Hostess Cupcakes. A soft chocolate cupcake that is filled with a vanilla marshmallow creme, topped with chocolate glaze and then the iconic white royal icing swirl.

As a child I remember choosing it as my treat many times on trips and if you were lucky you would buy a pack that had two in it! Double delicious!

My chore for creating this cookie was to try and figure out how to get all of the flavors packed into one bite. The solution was to pipe the swirl with vanilla marshmallow creme instead of royal icing.

Thank you so much for stopping by! This Hostess Cupcake Cookies post contains affiliate links, I receive a small amount of compensation if you choose to purchase from my links (for example – as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases). I only link to products that I know and love!

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (2)

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5 Secrets To The Perfect Cookie

Tips & tricks to achieve the most delicious cookies of your life!

How to Make a Cake Mix Hostess Cupcake Cookie

Just like all of the other wonderful cake mix cookies on my site, I started by whisking the cake mix. Then I added the eggs and oil.

Cake mix cookies are such a time saving option to the traditional cookie but there a couple of tips that I think are worth sharing. You can find them all here.

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Combine the ingredients with a hand held mixer {or wooden spoon} until you have a thick dough. Using a chocolate fudge mix gives it such a rich color and flavor {yes, I may have ate a bite of dough}.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (4)

Using a cookie scoop, scoop mounds of dough onto a cookie sheet that is covered with a silicone mat {or parchment paper}.

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Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes and remove from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before you move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely and set up.

It is so important to not over bake cake mix cookies. They can go from soft and wonderful to hard and unappealing in just a minute or two.

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How to put the Chocolate Glaze & Iconic Swirl on your Hostess Cupcake Cookie

Once all of the cookies are baked and cooled, it is time to turn your attention to the chocolate glaze. It is a lot like the Glace’ Icing that I use on my Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies.

Whisk all of the ingredients together until you have a thick but spreadable consistency.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (7)

Spoon a tablespoon or so of glaze onto each cookie and spread it out to the edges. Allow it to set up for at least 30 minutes before you move on to the swirl.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (8)

To make the vanilla marshmallow creme, combine the ingredients and use a handheld mixer to incorporate everything into a smooth frosting.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (9)

Add some of the vanilla marshmallow creme into a small Ziploc bag and cut a small triangle off of one corner of the bag. Starting in the middle of the cookie, work to the other side in a circular motion. Continue until all of the cookies have that sweet swirl.

NOTE: Using the vanilla marshmallow creme frosting will give you all of the flavors you expect from a Hostess Cupcake but it will not set up completely at room temperature making them hard to stack.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (10)

Now it is time to eat {if you have waited this long}. Look at that texture! The moist cookie, glossy glaze and creamy frosting are the perfect bite. Adults and kids alike will go insane for these cookies.

They are nostalgic, delicious and most of all FUN! Enjoy.

5 Tips to Making Hostess Cupcake Cake Mix Cookies:

  1. Don’t over bake the cookies. Take them out of the oven when they are set and let them cool and set up on the cookie sheet.
  2. Make sure the Chocolate Glace’ Frosting isn’t too thin. You want it thick enough to not run over the edge of the cookie. If it is too thin then just add a little more powdered sugar.
  3. You will have some leftover Marshmallow Cream Frosting and I suggest using it on graham crackers with Nutella.
  4. If you have piping bags and a round tip, it will give you a more even swirl on the top of the cookie but a Ziploc bag works too.
  5. Store them in a single layer in a air tight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (11)

Do you love Cake Mix Cookies? Try these recipes…
  • Toffee Sheet Cake Cookies
  • German Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
  • Celebration Sheet Cake Cookies
  • Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
  • Boston Cream Pie Cookie Bites
  • Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (12)

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake MIx

Everything you love about a Hostess Cupcake wrapped into one delicious cookie! The very best part is that the cookie starts with a cake mix.

Course: Dessert

Author: June Albertson-Dick

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

3.60 from 20 votes

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Ingredients

Cookie

  • 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
  • 2 eggs {whisked}
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Chocolate Glace' Frosting

  • 1 cup Cocoa Powder
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tbsp corn syrup
  • 6 tbsp milk

Marshmallow Creme Frosting Swirl

  • 1/2 jar {3.5 oz} marshmallow fluff
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar {more if needed to get right consistency}
  • 1/2 cup butter {softened}
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • Combine cookie ingredients in large bowl and mix until completely incorporated. NOTE: Dough will be thick.

  • Using a medium sized cookie scoop {or heaping tablespoon}, scoop cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.

  • Bake for 9-11 minutes, remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Repeat until all of the dough is baked.

Chocolate Glace'Frosting

  • Combine the Glace' Frosting ingredients and whisk until thick and smooth. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of frosting on top of each cookie and spread out to the edge of each cookie. Let them set up for at least 30 minutes.

Marshmallow Cream Frosting

  • Beat butter until light and fluffy, add sugar and vanilla and continue beating using a hand held or stand mixer. Add marshmallow fluff and beat at medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

  • Add frosting to a Ziploc bag and cut a small triangle from the corner. Starting at one side of each cookie begin piping the iconic swirl over the top of each cookie. NOTE: The Marshmallow Cream Frosting will give you the iconic taste that you expect from a Hostess Cupcake but it will not set up easily.

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @PracticallyHomemade or tag #practicallyhomemade!

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (2024)

FAQs

What is the filling in a hostess cupcake made of? ›

Hostess cupcakes are a plastic wrapped, store bought treat consisting of a soft, chocolate cupcake with a marshmallow cream filling topped with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and finished off with a loopy vanilla icing.

What did hostess CupCakes used to be called? ›

Hostess CupCakes were sold for the first time on May 10, 1919. The first commercially-produced cupcake, Hostess CupCakes were produced by the Taggart Baking Company. They were originally called Chocolate Cup Cake. At the onset, two Hostess CupCakes were priced at five cents.

What is in hostess CupCakes? ›

Ingredients: Sugar, water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate or reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), high fructose corn syrup, palm oil, corn syrup, cocoa, soybean oil, tallow, contains 2% or less: glycerin, cocoa processed with alkali, modified ...

Are hostess CupCakes egg free? ›

KANSAS CITY — Hostess Brands, Inc. has issued an allergen notice to let consumers know that Hostess Chocolate CupCakes, Chocolate Ding Dongs and SnoBalls now contain whole eggs, both in multipack and single-serve sizes.

What happened to Hostess cupcakes? ›

That little oblong, sponge-cakey treat with the “creamy” filling was absent from the U.S. market for about eight months, after its corporate owner, Hostess Brands, liquidated and ceased production of all its iconic snacks in 2012.

How to make a filling in a cupcake? ›

Fill the cupcakes: Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the center of the cooled cupcakes to create a little pocket about 1 inch deep. The piece you removed will be sort of cone-shaped. Spoon or pipe whipped buttercream inside each carved-out cupcake—use however much frosting will fit.

Which came first Little Debbie or Hostess cupcakes? ›

According to their respective websites, both brands originated in the 1910s (1913 Little Debbie, 1919 Hostess). In the 1930s, both companies launched their first iconic products: the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie and Hostess' Twinkies. Since then, the companies have been going head to head with their products.

What is an Elvis cupcake? ›

Banana cupcakes with fluffy peanut butter frosting topped with bits of bacon, “you can't help falling in love” with these Elvis Cupcakes!

What did Hostess go out of business? ›

In 2012, Hostess Brands declared bankruptcy and ceased operations. Assets were liquidated, and more than 18,000 employees lost their jobs. It was the last in a series of financial disasters that took Twinkies off the market for good.

Who owns Hostess Cupcakes now? ›

Smucker is now the owner of Hostess Brands and its portfolio of iconic snacks, including Twinkies, CupCakes and Donettes. Photo courtesy of J.M. Smucker Co. As PepsiCo, Inc.

Why did Hostess shut down? ›

Hostess made an effort to adapt to changing times, introducing new products like 100-calorie Twinkie Bites. But it also had new private equity backers, which loaded the company with debt, making it tough to invest in new equipment. At the same time, the workforce was heavily unionized and had very high labor costs.

Who originally made Hostess cupcakes? ›

Originally known as "Chocolate Cup Cakes," they were created by the Taggart Bakery and made at their Indianapolis bakery.

Can I skip eggs in cupcakes? ›

VINEGAR & BAKING SODA

You can combine 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 1 teaspoon of baking soda to replace each egg in fluffy confections like strawberry shortcake cupcakes, mini lemon cake or homemade pancakes.

What happens if you don't use eggs in cupcakes? ›

Where the eggs you are using are needed to make the cake rise, try making a simple leavening replacement by mixing 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil with 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon baking powder. This is enough to substitute for one egg, so double the quantities if you are replacing two.

When did Hostess cupcakes come out? ›

1919: CupCake Introduced

The company, known as Continental Baking at the time, wanted to start a line of sweet treats in addition to their popular bread. In 1919 they launched the original Hostess® CupCake which had no squiggle icing or crème filling.

What is hostess cream filling made of? ›

You only need 4 simple ingredients for the filling of a Hostess cupcake. You'll need softened unsalted butter, marshmallow creme, powdered sugar, and heavy cream.

Is there beef fat in hostess cupcakes? ›

Sugar, Water, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour [Flour, Reduced Iron, B Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid)], Corn Syrup, Palm Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Cocoa, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable and/or Animal Shortening (Soybean, Cottonseed and/or Canola Oil, Beef Fat), Soybean Oil, ...

Is there milk in hostess cupcakes? ›

Is it Milk Free? No. This product is not milk free as it lists 5 ingredients that contain milk.

Do cupcakes have filling? ›

You can fill your cupcakes with just about anything, from custard to jam to buttercream frosting. If you are using frosting, you can pipe it into the hole with a piping bag. If you are using a more fluid filling, such as custard or jam, or you can push it into the hole with a small teaspoon.

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