A fun St Patrick’s Day Dessert with a twist – these Lucky Charms Cupcakes don’t just use those iconic marshmallows as a garnish! Toasted Lucky Charms cereal gives the cupcakes a unique cereal flavor that any fan of Lucky Charms will love!

Lucky Charms Cupcakes Recipe

I’m usually the most boring mom when it comes to breakfast cereals, but I always grab a box of Lucky Charms when St Patrick’s Day is approaching.

I can’t help myself. There are certain nostalgic childhood treats that I feel are essential at certain holidays – like red and green M&Ms for Christmas and Mini Eggs at Easter.

Instead of just eating our Lucky Charms with milk this year, we decided to have some fun using them to make a few Lucky Charms-inspired desserts. First up is this fun Lucky Charms Cupcake.

Rather than just go with a plain vanilla cupcake and top it with the marshmallows, I was inspired by the bakery Milk Bar’s iconic cereal milk when making these cupcakes. They actually sell jars of milk that are flavored to be like the cereal milk that is leftover in the bowl after having a bowl of cereal.

It may sound weird but they sell thousands of jars of the milk, along with cereal milk ice cream and cereal milk cupcakes.

So, I thought it would be fun to infuse our cupcakes and vanilla buttercream with “cereal milk” flavor. It’s subtle but gives our cupcakes an undeniable Lucky Charms flavor.

While our cupcakes were made from scratch, you can also use the “cereal milk” hack if you want to use a boxed cupcake mix.

Just toast the cereal and soak it in milk as described below, and then use that cereal milk for the milk called for in the box cupcake directions and then use it while whipping up the homemade vanilla buttercream.

(While I’m all for using a boxed cake mix instead of scratch-cake, I personally have not found a pre-made frosting that remotely passes for homemade. Our recipe is super simple and you may never be able to buy pre-made frosting again after making and tasting it for yourself!)

To make the pretty design on the cupcakes, you will just need a piping bag and a large star tip – a basic cupcake decorating kit will have everything you need to make these cupcakes (and plenty more holiday treats).

More St Patrick’s Day Desserts the Kids Will Love

• Rainbow Sugar Cookies
• Rainbow Jello Frosted Grapes
• 3-Ingredient Lucky Charms Squares
• Lucky Charms Hot Chocolate Bombs
• Shamrock Pancakes
• Jello Rainbow Popcorn

Ingredients

For the Lucky Charms Cupcakes:

• 3 cups Lucky Charms, cereal separated from marshmallows
• 2 cups Milk *only 3/4 of the milk to be used in the batter
• 1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoons Salt
• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 3/4 cup White Sugar
• 2 Eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

For the Cereal Milk Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 3-4 cups Powdered Icing Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cereal Milk*
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Rainbow Sprinkles, as desired

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Cookie Sheet
• Mesh Strainer
• Mixing Bowls
• Electric Mixer
• Cupcake Pan
• Cupcake Liners
• Piping Bag with Star Tip

Directions

Preheat oven to 300ºF.

Spread the Lucky Charms cereal (with marshmallows removed) onto a silicone mat- (or parchment paper-) lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, flipping the cereal over halfway through the cooking time.

Remove from oven and allow cereal to cool before placing the cereal and milk in a large bowl.

Allow the cereal to soak for 15 minutes.

Use a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to drain the milk. Save the milk and discard the cereal.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line one and a half muffin trays with 18 cupcake liners and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil and sugar for 2 minutes until light-colored and sugar is well-incorporated.

Beat in the eggs, vanilla extract and 3/4 cup of the reserved cereal milk. (Do not add all of the milk!)

Beat in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

Scoop the cupcake batter into the prepared liners using a 1/3 cup measuring cup and bake for 24-28 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the cupcake to cool completely before frosting.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, 3 cups of the powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons of the cereal milk and the vanilla extract. Beat the frosting for 2 minutes before adjusting the texture with additional powdered sugar, if needed.

Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fit with a large star tip.

Make dollops of frosting along the edge of each cupcake to create little star bursts, then make a small swirl of frosting in the center of each cupcake.

Garnish with Lucky Charms marshmallows and sprinkles.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do These Cupcakes Need to Be Refrigerated?

Even though the frosting contains milk, it does not require refrigeration. Buttercream frosting is ok to store at room temperature because the large amount of powdered sugar keeps it stable.

To prevent the cupcakes from drying out, store them in an airtight container and away from any heat or light sources.

Pin this Fun St Patrick’s Day Cupcake recipe to make with the kids:

Grab your free printable recipe card for our Lucky Charms cupcake recipe:

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