halloween cupcakes

It's still 5 weeks away but TV/radio/retail stores are screaming halloween already.  In fact, as early as August while shopping for a dress at Marshalls, I was baffled by the overpowering eerie sight of orange and owl-inspired home decor.  I was like "what's with all the owl?" ^_^   It wasn't until i entered another store with the same themed decoration that i realized it was all for halloween.

Last night while digging into my files i stumbled upon some photos of the halloween cupcakes i made last year.  They are cute and so easy to make and my little cupcake monster loved it!

Here's what you need:

• chocolate cupcakes
• jet-puffed marshmallows
• m&m candies or skittles
• gummy worms
• lifesaver gummies
• licorice candy laces
• chocolate chips
• white frosting (vanilla)
• chocolate frosting (or you can color your white frosting dark brown)
• red and brown decorating icing (i use ready-to-use icing tubes; if you don't have it, just color your white frosting with red and brown and snip a small hole in a ziplock bag to pipe the frosting)
• oreo cookies, finely crushed
• toothpicks

1.  Bake your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

2.  To make spider cupcakes:

• Cover your cupcakes with chocolate frosting.   If you don't have chocolate frosting, you can use vanilla frosting and color it dark brown
• Cut a marshmallow in half crosswise.  Stick two marshmallow pieces to each cupcake to make the eyes
• Dab one side of the M&M candy with a little frosting and stick it to the marshmallows.  Use another M&M candy to make the nose.
• Sprinkle the rest of the cupcake with finely crushed oreo cookies (you can also use chocolate sprinkles)
• Using a toothpick, poke 4 holes on each side of the cupcake
• Cute your licorice lace into 8 equal pieces and insert into each hole.  Remember: a spider has 8 legs. ^_^

3.  To make eyeball cupcakes:

• Frost your cupcake with vanilla frosting
• Insert one chocolate chip into the center of the lifesaver gummy
• Stick the lifesaver gummy at the center of the cupcake
• Use red decorating icing to draw small veiny lines on the eyeballs.

4.  To make spider web cupcakes:

• Frost your cupcakes with vanilla frosting
• Squeeze circles of brown decorating gel on each cupcake.
• Using a toothpick, draw a line from the center of the cupcake outward to make a web.

5.  To make worm cupcakes:

• Frost your cupcakes with chocolate frosting
• Cover cupcake with finely-crushed oreo cookies (or chocolate sprinkles)
• Top cupcake with gummy worms.  Make a hole into the cupcake and insert the gummy worms to make it appear that they're coming out of the dirt.

How fun and simple is that?  The secret is using candies you can all find at the store.  There are tons of them, in different sizes and shapes.  Special halloween edition candies are already available at this time so grab them and be creative.