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Lucky’s Golden Ticket Cupcakes. Sweet, simple, and delicious, every Leprechaun out there will love these cupcakes. Light and fluffy vanilla butter cupcakes generously frosted with the most delicious creamy caramel-like brown sugar and rich vanilla frosting. Then finished off with a sprinkling of sweet, colorful, crushed-up Lucky Charm Marshmallows and edible gold leaf. Sooo much here to love! You can’t beat these cute little golden ticket cupcakes. Fun for both St. Patrick’s Day and Easter.
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I almost never share St. Patrick’s Day-themed recipes, but something in me this year wanted to have some fun and celebrate! It’s a combination of things. You see, I really need color in my life right now. Color and fun things to keep me from being completely bored out of my mind during these snowy Colorado days.
I’m at that point in our the long winters, where I really need to keep things exciting. I’ve been planning more travel and making an effort to create recipes that truly make me excited. And when it comes to sweet treats, we’re indulging a bit more than usual this year.
It’s just what we need!
And while these cupcakes are of course fun, I made sure that they’re delicious and easy to make too. If you can make a basic cupcake recipe, you’ve got these covered.
And decorating is EASY, almost effortless.
The idea behind this recipe came from that box of Lucky Charms we all grew up eating. I wanted to use the marshmallows to make these sweet vanilla cupcakes CUTE, and of course fun, for St. Patrick’s Day next week.
Growing up, I loved a bowl of Lucky Charms. But the thing is, I would always eat around the marshmallows. Is that weird or what. I’ve just never been someone who enjoyed overly sugary things, even as a kid.
But of course, I always found them so cute and fun, and I loved the sweet oat cereal.
Details
Start with the cupcake. This is the perfect light and fluffy vanilla cupcake. You need all the usuals: sweet butter, sugar, flour baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then of course eggs. Oh, and this recipe uses milk too.
Beat the butter with the sugar, then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This recipe is unique in that we’re not beating the butter with the sugar, then adding wet ingredients and then dry. We’re mixing the butter and flour first, then adding in the wet ingredients.
It’s this process that gives you such a light cupcake.
Once the flour is mixed in, mix the milk with the vanilla, then add this to the flour. Next add in the eggs, making sure to beat them in one at a time. Finish with either Greek yogurt or sour cream, but I use yogurt.
While the cupcakes bake, you can make the frosting.
This is the perfect frosting for these cupcakes. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and the rich, light flavors of caramel pair so nicely with the vanilla cupcake.
The brown sugar melts down adding hints of warm molasses and really deepens the flavor to create a frosting that’s perfectly rich and caramel-like. And when you add a touch of vanilla and sea salt? Well, it’s hard to say no to a second cupcake.
Frost each cupcake and then use your fingers to lightly crush your favorite Lucky Charms marshmallows over top. If you want to get fancy, I love to add a few pieces of edible gold leaf too. I ordered mine on Amazon, it’s always so fun when I get to use them!
These cupcakes are delicious. Each bite is filled with sweet classic vanilla cupcake and light, fluffy, vanilla “caramel” frosting. Lucky is going to LOVE these. The perfect cupcakes to bake for both St. Patrick’s Day, and upcoming Easter! They’re pretty hard not to love.
Looking for other spring dessert recipes? Here are some favorites:
Double Strawberry Sugar Cookies
Giant Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart
Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake
Lemon Strawberry Dutch Baby with Ricotta Cream
Lastly, if you make these Lucky’s Golden Ticket Cupcakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lucky’s Golden Ticket Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk, warmed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
CARAMEL FROSTING
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Lucky Charm marshmallows, for decorating
- edible gold leaf sheets, for decorating
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 24 cupcake molds with paper liners.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until mixed into small dry crumbs. 3. Combine the milk and vanilla, then pour in the flour, beating until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the yogurt, beating until just combined.4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Transfer to the oven and bake 22-25 minutes, until the tops are just set, and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool.5. To make the frosting. Melt together 1 stick butter, brown sugar, and cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Add a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl in the freezer (or fridge for longer) for 15 minutes or until cool to touch.6. Grab the cooled butter mixture from the freezer and add the remaining 1 stick butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar to the bowl. Beat together until well combined, adding more sugar as needed.7. Frost each cupcake. Decorate as desired with Lucky Charms. I lightly crush the marshmallows with my fingers, then sprinkle over each cupcake. You could use St.Patrick's Day sprinkles as well. Or do them up for Easter!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I made these tonight and they did rise, however not to the edge of my liners. Hoping they dont turn out too dense, they smelled delicious!! Haha.
I’ll be making the frosting and frosting them tomorrow. Once completed, do they need to be stored in the fridge?
Thank you as always for your AMAZING recipes!!! 😋
Hi Haley,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! These do not need to be kept in the fridge, on the counter in an airtight container is great:) xT
Can you sub buttermilk for sour cream? So excited to try these!
Hi Katie,
I would use sour cream or yogurt for this recipe:) Please let me know if you give this a try, I hope it’s delish! xx
These are so cute that I just had to make them!! My little leprechauns love them! It’s a really light and fluffy cupcake and the lucky charms + the gold leaf made a pretty combination – I got a ton of compliments on these.
Hey there,
Amazing!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xx
Hello! Would love to make these ahead of time, but I would need to have them fully decorated about 4 hrs before an event. Would the frosting be fine to sit out for that long without refridgeration? I’m afraid if they go in the fridge the marshmallows will get melty and look terrible.
Hey Azure,
These will be just fine sitting at room temp in an airtight container:) Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Mine turned out too dense. The batter looked good but they sunk down and didn’t rise in the bake. I was disappointed as I made these for my bday. The flavor was good but the texture was off.
Hi Holly,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, so sorry to hear that the cupcakes were dense for you! What kind of pan did you bake them in? Was it metal or silicone? Let me know how I can help! Happy Birthday! xT
I used a metal cupcake pan. Wilton nonstick with Wilton paper liners. Same as usual that has delivered good results. I made your simple chocolate celebration cupcakes for my sons bday last month and they turned out wonderfully. Thanks for all your hard work
Again, so sorry about that Holly! I’m not sure what went wrong there!
Might be the best frosting I’ve ever tasted.
Hey Ashlee,
Happy Wednesday!🌈 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner!
Hi
Do you think if i made these dairy free, they would still taste good? Can you recommend a good dairy-free substitute for butter? Could I use Coconut creme in place of heavy creme?
Hi Nicole,
So sorry, I have not tested this recipe using dairy free ingredients, so I can’t say for sure what the results would be. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it turns out well for you! xT
The battery was really soft, airy, fluffy. But when I bakedbthem they sunk in and turned out dense. Any idea how this happened?
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, sorry to hear they turned out dense! Sounds like the batter was perfect, anything weird that happened while you were baking? Sorry, I’m not sure why this would have happened! xx
I just realized I left out a half stick of butter in the batter…after they were baked 😳. Hoping they’re not awful- mine are dense, as well. Bummer!
Oooops! Thanks for trying the recipe Michele, hopefully they taste okay! xT
Super easy to follow and loved making them. Mine tasted floury-what can I do differently next time? Thanks!
Hi Jo,
Happy Monday!!🌴 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Hmmm, any chance your flour was expired? xT
Can I make this recipe in a cake? 2 8” rounds?
Hey Leslie,
Sure, I bet that would work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
These were so yummy!! My caramel sauce took longer than 15 min to chill and I ended up getting impatient and making the frosting anyways which resulted in it being a bit runny and needing extra powder sugar, but still tastes amazing! I actually added a shot of espresso into the frosting as well and would highly recommend to other coffee addicts 🙂
Hey Marie,
Happy Sunday! 😃 Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Do you think you could easily add green food coloring to the batter?
Hi Nicole,
Totally, I don’t see why not! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I have never used any sort of edible gold leaf. Are the sheets easy to crush? Is there a reason you get the sheets vs already crushed? Like maybe the sheets are more versatile. I am Always so interested in your food styling and garnishing!
Hi Cari,
The sheets are easy to crush, but you can also get the already crushed ones too. Either one will work here! Let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Is it okay to substitute light brown sugar for the frosting?
I got dark brown sugar, and I’m so glad I used it! It turned out delicious!
Thanks for sharing Ashley!!
Hi Ashley,
Yes, that will be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Why does the write-up say you use “sweet butter”, but the ingredients say salted butter?
TIA
Maybe because you make a sweet butter mixture for the frosting?! Either way, just follow the written recipe and watch her video on Instagram of her making them. It’s sure to be successful and delicious!
Hi there,
Sorry, not sure, that’s a typo, just use the salted butter:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx