These Chocolate Teddy Bear Cupcakes could not be any cuter. Each one is topped with a peanut butter cup bear and is holding a bright red candy heart. They are perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Originally Published on January 20, 2016 – New Video Tutorial
Chocolate Teddy Bear Cupcakes for Valentine’s Day
Teddy bears and Valentine’s Day go together as well as chocolate and peanut butter do, so this sweet treat combo couldn’t be more perfect for this winter holiday.
Adorably cute chocolate peanut butter cup bears adorn the tops of chocolate cupcakes. Each holds a bright red cherry candy heart.
If you have not yet made cupcakes topped with decorated peanut butter cups, now is the time to give them a try.
These teddy bear cupcakes are pretty simple to create using chocolate cupcakes and chocolate frosting.
- I suggest you start by baking a batch of ultimate chocolate cupcakes using the same recipe I used at Christmas to make my Chocolate Reindeer Cupcakes but if you prefer you can use a cake mix or even store bought cupcakes.
You will also need some stiff chocolate frosting.
- You can use my amazing chocolate ganache frosting or make a homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. Grocery store frosting tubs are a bit too soft. If you use that type of frosting add some cocoa powder and powdered sugar to the frosting to thicken it up.
To make the Reese’s Cup Teddy Bears you’ll need:
Reese’s Cups
Light Cocoa Candy Melts
Peanut Butter Candy Melts
Candy eyes
Cherry JuJu Hearts
Whoppers (malt balls)
Optional, Pocky Cookie Sticks
You can find items needed to make these adorably cute Valentine’s Day cupcakes from Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)
How to make Reese’s Cup Teddy Bears
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Melt some Light Coco Candy Melts.
- You will only need a small amount of melted candy melts for this project, about one wafer per cupcake, but melting such a small amount can be challenging so I recommend melting a small bowl full.
- You can always use the remaining candy to dip some pretzels, cookies, or marshmallows. Or you can pour it out onto parchment paper and let it harden to use for another project.
- To melt the candy melts place them in a a microwave safe bowl and heat on high power for 15-30 second increments, stirring after each until abut 75% is melted. Then let the bowl sit in the microwave for 3 minutes before stirring again. The residual heat from the melted chocolate should melt the remaining chunks.
- You can find detailed instructions for melting candy melts and keeping it melted for lengths of time on my Chocolate Making Tips Page.
- You will only need a small amount of melted candy melts for this project, about one wafer per cupcake, but melting such a small amount can be challenging so I recommend melting a small bowl full.
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Assemble the pieces:
- Attach one peanut butter candy melt wafer (see NOTE below) to the front of a peanut butter cup along one edge to create the bear’s snout using melted candy melts,
- Then attach a candy coated chocolate for the nose.
- Attach two candy eyes just above the snout.
- Cut two chocolate candy melt wafers so that they fit up against the peanut butter cup.
- I used a round cookie cutter that is the same size of the peanut butter cup and cut off a curved piece.
- You can also use a knife, but that is a bit trickier to get a nice curved cut.
- Attach two ears to each peanut butter cup using melted candy melts.
NOTE about white streaks on candy melts:
- Your peanut butter and light cocoa candy melt wafers might have white spots or streaks on them.
- This is either fat bloom (where the fat from the candy comes to the surface) or it is scratch marks from the candy rubbing against each other.
- To remove the white streaks simply rub the wafers up against the palm of your hand. The warmth of you hand will melt away the fat bloom leaving you with a nicely colored candy melt wafer.
How to assemble the teddy bear cupcakes:
- Attach one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup bear to the top of a big chocolate frosting swirl.
- If your frosting is not firm enough you can insert a cookie stick (a Pocky Stick) into the frosting and down into the middle of the cupcake to use as support for the Reese’s Cup.
- This gives the Reese’s Cup bear something to lean up against so it’s stays upright.
- You can see this step in the video tutorial below.
- Add one candy heart just below the bear’s head and place two chocolate malted milk balls on either side of the heart so your bears look like they are holding the candy heart.
- I used cherry jube-jel hearts. They are the perfect size and color but you can also use Sweedish Fish Hearts, Conversation Hearts, or Sweet Tart Hearts which are a bit smaller.
Reese’s Cup Teddy Bear Cupcakes Video Tutorial
Can I make these cupcakes in advance of a party?
- The cupcakes can be stored at room temperature, already assembled, for up to 2 days but I highly recommend you make and decorate the Reese’s Cup Bears and keep them stored in an airtight container then add them to the cupcakes the day you plan to serve them.
- It is best to attach them to freshly piped frosting if you are using crusting frosting like a buttercream so you will need to frost the cupcakes just before assembly.
- If you use store bought cupcakes be sure they have a nice big swirl of frosting on top and that the frosting has not crusted.
To save some time:
- You can bake the cupcakes ahead and even freeze them if need be.
- Then the day of your party, pipe on the frosting and attach the Reese’s Cup Bear, malt ball paws, and candy heart.
I hope you enjoy making these Teddy Bear Cupcakes. If you do, please leave a comment below and click on the star ratings to rate the recipe too.
Before you go, be sure to check out these other fun Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake Treats.
you might like these other recipes too.
Another wonderfully cute creation using cupcakes and Reeses pb cups. Somehow I missed seeing the reindeer you created in Dec. so clicked on that. TWO treats in one day – whoo hoo. On the reindeer link I see the delicious recipe for the cupcakes and the ganache frosting. Oh my……
Next I noticed the fluted cupcake liners so looked on your Amazon link as I don’t think I’ve ever seen brown cupcake liners. Wilton wave cups are what they’re called. They add that little extra “touch”.
Thanks for posting these adorable little teddies so we can get our ingredients together in time for Valentines Day.
Tavette – S. Fla.
Thanks, Tavette. Yes, that cupcake recipe is amazing. It’s what I used to make these teddy bear cupcakes. For fun, I added some peanut butter to the chocolate ganache frosting. It was delish, but needed some tweaking. I’ll make it again and share the recipe.
I love those wavy cups. They are so pretty. I need to get some more, being I used my last one making these bears. I definitely recommend them, just know that they are a bit smaller than normal cups, so you’ll make a few extra cupcakes.
How did you attach the teddy bear to the cupcake? BTW…they are adorable!
I just pushed it into the frosting and it stuck. Thanks. 🙂
All I can say is these little cupcakes are BEARY cute!
Thanks, Kim. I love them BEARY much!
Well he melted my heart for sure! And who doesn’t love a messy bear hug..incoming!! Thanks for the tip on the candy melts..I had never thought about that! 🙂
I’m so glad you feel these teddy bears are huggable. I do too!
Trying to figure out how to print the recipe
Hi Brandee,
Being there isn’t a recipe per say for this post you can do one of two things:
You can use the printer button on the left side of the screen to print out the entire post (you can also choose which pages to print, if you don’t want all the pages.)
You can also copy and paste the tutorial into a word document then print that out.
i wanted to make a treat for my son’s kindergarten class for vday and totally need to make this!! i think some of the kids don’t like chocolate so i was thinking making a raspberry filling in the middle.. do you think itll be okay? will the pocky stick stay in place or would it move around? also for the frosting.. (i’m going to make your ganache frosting you posted) can i make it the night before and keep it refrigerated til the next morning? i need to have the cupcakes ready and delivered by lunch time.. i’m not sure how long it’ll take me to make the frosting and pipe it in the morning. i know i can make the cupcakes and bear faces the night before so that will help with the time. Thanks so much!! i’m so excited to try this but kinda stressing me out too! lol
Hi Tina,
I know the kids will love these teddy bear cupcakes! For the kids who don’t like chocolate, I would suggest making white cupcakes and use white chocolate Reese’s Cups like I did when making my Polar Bear Cupcakes If you do decided to add filling then you won’t be able to use the Pocky Stick to hold up the Reese’s Cup. If you are making the chocolate ganache frosting, it is stiff enough to hold up the peanut butter cups on their own.
Speaking of the ganache frosting, it really should be whipped and piped the day it is made otherwise it will get too firm. It’s also best to add the Reese’s Cups right after you pipe on the frosting so that they easily stick to the soft frosting.
You can make and decorate the cupcakes a day before you need them. Just cover them and let them sit at room temperature. They will be fine for a day. Have fun!
polar bear cupcakes are so cute too!! can i make the frosting the same way but with white chocolate chips? about how many cupcakes does your ganache frosting cover?
If you add a small swirl of frosting on top of a cupcake you should have enough of the chocolate ganache frosting for 20-22 cupcakes. You’ll need more frosting to make the swirl for the bear cupcakes. The recipe will probably be enough for 12-16 cupcakes. I used 12 ounces of dark chocolate to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and the frosting was quite firm. If you want a softer frosting you can use 8 ounces dark chocolate to 1 cup of cream.
White chocolate is softer than dark chocolate so when using it to make a whipped frosting you’ll need to use more white chocolate. I’d suggest using 16 ounces of white chocolate to 8 ounces (1 cup) of heavy whipping cream for a firm frosting or 12 ounces white chocolate to 8 ounces heavy whipping cream for a softer frosting.
i bought semi-chocolates to make the frosting.. can i just use the same amount as the dark chocolate? or are they softer like the white chocolates? thank you so much for your help!! praying that they turn out cute and yummy!
Hi Tina, Sorry for the confusion. Semi-sweet chocolate is dark chocolate so yes, you’ll use the same amounts.
one last question, i promise! I can use regular chocolate chips melted to use as “glue” right? it doesn’t have to be the candy wafer melts? or do they adhere better?
Chocolate chips are pure chocolate and they will need to be tempered otherwise they will remain soft. They won’t harden properly and they will become spotty. Unless you want to temper the chocolate I would recommend using candy melts instead. You only need to melt the candy melts and they will harden properly and be shiny.
the cupcakes were a hit!!! i got tons of compliments and it was the talk of the school during lunch time.. haha. even though it took me all day and had trouble with making the white chocolate frosting.. it was worth it! i ruined the white chocolate ganache but thank the good lord i bought a tub of frosting from the grocery store and just thickened it up with powered sugar. thank you soo much for all your help!!
I’m so happy to hear they cupcakes were a huge hit! Sorry to hear your white chocolate ganache didn’t work but I’m sure the kids loved their cupcakes with store-bought frosting.