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.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (3)

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}.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (5)

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.

Hostess Cupcake Cookies Recipe with a Cake Mix | Practically Homemade (6)

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

3.48 from 21 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 Hostess CupCake filling 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 happened to Hostess cupcakes? ›

Although Hostess Brands entered into bankruptcy protection in 2012, the company planned to continue making CupCakes and other snack cakes such as Twinkies and Sno Balls. These plans were derailed by the company's liquidation and announcement that they were going out of business on November 16, 2012.

How many cupcakes does 1 box of cake mix make? ›

BATTER: Generally, a box of cake mix will make 5 cups of batter, which equates to 24 standard cupcakes, 48 mini cupcakes and 12 jumbo cupcakes.

How many swirls are on a Hostess CupCake? ›

Icing. You'll also want to pickup a #21 star frosting tip for the creamy filling, a #5 (or just cut the corner off of a frosting bag) for the original squiggle detail and pastry bags. If you look at the actual product packaging for a Hostess cupcake you'll notice 7 swirls.

What is the GREY stuff cupcake? ›

The Master's Cupcake is an absolutely divine chocolate sponge cake topped with the "grey stuff," shimmery sugar pearls, and an ornate chocolate topper. You can find this special cupcake on the breakfast and lunch menus at Be Our Guest Restaurant! During dinner, the "grey stuff" is served in a chocolate shell.

What are the ingredients in hostess? ›

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, tallow, dextrose, egg, contains 2% or less: soybean oil, corn starch, modified cornstarch, hydrogenated tallow, whey, ...

Why did the Hostess fail? ›

Unfortunately, due to several factors, including high production costs, lack of health-conscious products, multiple labor unions, extensive pension plans, and significant debt, Hostess Brands, Inc. had to file for bankruptcy in 2012.

Why did Hostess stop selling? ›

It emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2009, renamed itself Hostess Brands--and then filed for bankruptcy protection again in 2012. After the company asked its union for yet more concessions and workers went on strike, Hostess decided to call it quits and shut down its factories.

What year did Hostess go out of business? ›

Why it matters: A decade ago, Hostess was left for dead after its second bankruptcy in a span of a few years. After a huge public fight with union leadership, the company decided to liquidate in 2012 — and, briefly, there were fears that its iconic products would disappear forever.

How to make box cupcakes taste like bakery? ›

Replace water with whole milk, coffee, or soda.

The result is a moister and more flavorful cupcake. Replace water with whole milk in vanilla and white cake mixes. Add coffee to bring out the richness of a chocolate cupcake. Lemon lime soda will make a citrus cupcake sing.

Can you bake cupcakes without liners? ›

Making Cupcakes Without Liners

While sticking is a bit of a risk, you can always spray down your muffin pan and bake the cupcakes as normal. (Baker's Joy is a good product to consider using.) Make sure to evenly coat each and every cup, and to coat not only the base but also the sides of the cup. But don't over do it!

Does a box cake mix make 2 round cakes? ›

A standard cake mix will make two 9" rounds, but you don't have to follow the rules. Use a springform pan (which makes for a taller, prouder cake), a Bundt pan for instant decoration, an extra-long loaf pan or two standard ones, or a muffin tin to make cupcakes.

Which came first, little Debbie or Hostess? ›

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.

Did Little Debbie buy a Hostess? ›

McKee Foods, which makes Little Debbie snack cakes, snapped up Drake's Cake, which includes Devil Dogs and Yodels. The rest, including Twinkies and other Hostess cakes, was acquired by Metropoulos & Co.

Who owns Hostess? ›

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.

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, ...

What are the ingredients in Hostess Unicorn cupcakes? ›

Sugar / Glucose-Fructose, Enriched Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil, Liquid Whole Eggs, Modified Palm And Modified Palm Kernel Oils, Glycerin, Modified Milk Ingredients, Water, Pink Coloured Sprinkles [Sugar, Corn Starch, Vegetable Oils(Palm Kernel, Palm), Dextrin, Soy Lecithin, Shellac, Natural And Artificial Flavour, ...

What is cupcake frosting made of? ›

Icing recipes typically combine powdered sugar and liquid (like water, milk or juice) whereas buttercream frosting is made by creaming together butter, sugar and a little bit of milk to make the frosting fluffy, smooth and perfectly spreadable.

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