Little Monster Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
- 12 vanilla cupcakes baked in orange, green, and purple paper
- 12 mini vanilla cupcakes, paper liners removed
- 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
- Neon green, orange, and purple food coloring
- 24 mini lollipops (Dum Dums), unwrapped
- 24 peach or green apple gummy rings (O’s)
- 24 brown mini candy coated chocolates (M&M’s Minis)
- 12 assorted color candy-coated chocolates (M&M’s Minis)
Directions:
1. Spoon 2 tablespoons vanilla frosting into a small ziplock bag. Divide the remaining vanilla frosting among three bowls and tint each a different color with the food coloring. Spoon each color of frosting into a separate ziplock bag, press out the excess air, and seal the bags.
2. Insert a lollipop stick through a gummy ring, pushing it through the candy from the center to outer edge. Bring the gummy ring up around the lollipop, like a bonnet, to make the eyes. Continue with the remaining gummy rings and lollipops.
3. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bags with the frostings. Pipe a dot of tinted frosting on top of the standard cupcakes. Place a mini cupcake on top, flat side down. Starting at the edge of the standard cupcake and using the tinted frosting, pipe furn with a squeeze-release-pull action. Continue until the entire exposed cupcake assembly is covered. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes and colored frosting.
4. Insert 2 like-colored lollipop eyes into the top of each cupcake assembly. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting in the center of each lollipop and add a brown candy for the pupil. Add a colored candy to the top of the frosting for the nose. Repeat with the remaining lollipop eyes and cupcakes.
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STRING MONSTER VARIATION:
Follow steps 1 and 2 above. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bags with the frosting. Pipe a dot of tinted frosting on top of the standard cupcakes. Place a mini cupcake on top, flat side down. Pipe the tinted frosting all over the cupcakes to make the string, making sure to cover cupcakes completely. Continue with step 4 above.
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recipe from what's new cupcake book