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Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes

Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes Sound Crazy But They’re Delish!

Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes sound crazy, but they are a fun spin on that sweet and sour flavor everyone loves in Sour Patch Kid Candy!

Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes on a napkin with Sour Patch Kid candies sprinkled around

They’re a soft vanilla cupcake, filled with a fruit jam, topped with creamy frosting and a sweet and sour dusting. It might sound crazy, but they’re really REALLY good!

How To Make the Sour Sugar Coating of Sour Patch Kids

First make your sour sugar.  It’s the most important part of Sour Patch Kids Candy, so essentially it’s the most important part of these cupcakes.

What I did was mix equal parts citric acid and sugar.

Don’t be SCARED!  Citric acid isn’t gonna make your face melt..it’s a powder that is used in lots of candies!  You can get it HERE.

If you don’t want to order it online, you can get this type of thing at the supermarket…

This is “crystallized lemon” and all it is, is flavored citric acid.  It would work perfect for these cupcakes.  You can get this at the supermarket.

If you  can’t find either of these items, you could just use powdered lemonade mix…it won’t be AS sour, but I imagine that it will do the trick 🙂

Ok, so what I did was mix 1/4 cup citric acid with 1/4 cup sugar.  That’s it.

Set that aside.

Now bake some cupcakes.  You can just use a boxed mix. It’s fine! OR you can use my recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes…they are awesome!

Then, when they cool, use a paring knife cut a small hole in the top.

I filled a ziplock bag with some Strawberry jelly…

Cut the corner off and squeeze some jelly into the cupcakes.

Then make some frosting.  Use THIS recipe.

I colored my frosting different colors to make it pretty.

Then pipe your frosting on and sprinkle them evenly with the sour sugar you made.

Top them off with a Sour Patch Kid Candy!

And dig in…

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78 comments on “Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes”

  1. I’ve never seen flavored citric acid before! Does it have to be flavored or can you use regular citric acid—maybe throw in a little bit of lemon extract or something?

  2. Allie Sparkles

    We tried our hand at these beauties yesterday. Our BFF was in a “sour patch kids” mood and we wanted to brighten her day. IT WORKED! Thanks for the inspiration. BTW, we mentioned your greatness on our blog, hope you get a sec to check it out!

  3. I thought I was the only adult that liked “Sour Patch Kids.” It’s great to see I’m not alone!
    My youngest son is the one who had me try them for the first time while on a mission trip to Costa Rica. We worked until 6pm and by the time we made it back to our lodge, the kitchen was closed. Needless to say, we dug through our “stuff” to see what we had on hand. I pulled out “Tang” drink mix, and he pulled out his stash of “Sour Patch Kids.” We tried to find an equivalent days later, to no avail. All they carry at the new Walmart nearby the airport are something called, Trolley Worms/ YUK!
    Thank you for posting this cupcake recipe, and for the post that said she adapted hers by using jello. Both sound excellent. The sugar in Sour Patch reminds me of “Pixie Sticks” that I used to love as a child. I’m approaching 60 years old, and still a kid when it comes to candy! Blessings for sharing your fun recipes. You get an A+ for effort, and a Gold Star for Citizenship 😀 Happy Day!

  4. Vera Zecevic-Cupcakes Garden

    These cupcake look so cute and fun. I’ve featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don’t mind, but if you do, please contact me and I’ll remove it. All the best.

  5. I am making these for my brother’s birthday this week, but need to make them a day ahead because the party’s right after work. Do you think the sour sugar would get absorbed into the frosting if I sprinkled it on the night before? I’m wondering if I should wait and add the sugar on at the last minute when I run home to grab the cupcakes before the party. Thanks for this great idea!

  6. Hello for the sour patch cupcakes would you still put vanilla in the frosting? I am going to make these this week:)

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