Halloween Cupcakes

Ghost Cupcakes
24 baked cupcakes
24 Nutter-Butter cookies
Chocolate frosting
Vanilla frosting
Tube of chocolate decorator’s icing

Spider Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped peanuts or crispy rice cereal
3/4 cup dry chow mein noodles
24 baked cupcakes
White frosting

1. Coat each baked cupcake with chocolate frosting and partially insert a Nutter-Butter cookie into the top. Frost the remaining cookie with vanilla frosting.

Draw a spooky expression on each ghost with the decorator’s icing. Makes 24.

2. Make the spiders by combining the chocolate chips and milk in a glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until smooth.

Stir in the peanuts or cereal and chow mein noodles.

3. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper. Stick on extra noodles for spider legs and chill.

Frost the cupcakes white. Then top each cupcake with a spider. Makes 24.

Brain Cupcakes
12 Cupcakes
Buttercream Frosting
Food Coloring

1. Bake a batch of classic cupcakes.

2. Spread a coat of light orange icing (we stirred drops of yellow and pink food coloring, and just a touch of green, into 2 cups of buttercream frosting until we had a hue we liked) on a dozen cupcakes.

3. Use a pastry bag fitted with a number 10 round tip to top them with fat zigzags. It works best to first pipe two zigzags down the middle and then fill in the sides.

Creepy Cupcakes
12 chocolate-frosted chocolate cupcakes
1/2 cup white chocolate chip
Red food coloring
Blue food coloring
Light corn syrup
Hot water
1 cup of chow mein noodles
1/2 cup chocolate cookie wafer crumbs

1. Start with a dozen chocolate-frosted chocolate cupcakes. Then make the worm topping by melting 1/2 cup white chocolate chips in a microwave for 1 minute and stirring them until smooth.

2. Stir in 5 drops of red food coloring, 1 drop of blue food coloring, and 1 tablespoon each of light corn syrup and hot water. Gently fold in 1 cup of chow mein noodles until they are evenly coated.

3. Scoop the mixture onto waxed paper and use two forks to separate the noodles into individual worms or smaller clumps.

4. Allow about 20 minutes for the coating to set. Meanwhile, sprinkle the cupcakes with chocolate cookie wafer crumbs (1/2 cup should be plenty for one dozen) and gently press them into the frosting.

When the worms are ready, arrange them on top.

Daddy Longlegs Cupcakes
Chocolate cupcake (body)
Canned chocolate icing
Chocolate sprinkles (hair)
2 pieces of eye-type candy (we used Bassett’s Liquorice Allsorts)
Clean scissors
Ruler
1 package of black string lace licorice (legs)

1. Frost the cupcake with chocolate icing and cover with sprinkles.

2. Press the eyes into place.

3. Use scissors to cut eight 4-inch pieces of licorice for the legs. Holding all of the legs together in a bunch, bend them in half and crease.

Push the end of each leg into the cupcake to form legs.