Mmmonday! Oh the tangled web...
Perhaps it was Halloween coming up or maybe the spider that’s been dangling above our front steps for days, but something spooky inspired me to make these cupcakes. They’re super easy to make and full of sugar, so a perfect Halloween project to do with kids (preferably ones you can send home afterwards)!
Step 1: bake 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes
You can labor over your grandma’s secret chocolate cake recipe OR take the easy way out and pick up a box of Betty Crocker cake mix. I found one that has “real pudding” in the mix, which seems odd since it’s a dry mix, but they came out very moist so who am I to question Betty?! I also added some blue and red food coloring to darken the batter a bit.
Step 2: frost cupcakes
Again, for lazybones like me, the ready made chocolate frosting was just fine for this project. Although the label says it will frost 24-36 cupcakes, there was a ton of frosting left over. Mr. Pony will no doubt be snacking on it for weeks. Who am I kidding, it’s probably already gone.
Step 3: sugar cupcakes
I know what you’re thinking, “more sugar?” and the answer is yes! Dip each freshly frosted cupcake into a bowl of black decorative sugar or chocolate sprinkles (known as jimmies in these parts). I chose the decorative sugar to get a truly black spider, but chocolate sprinkles are fine too.
Step 4: eyes & legs
To give your spider some scare power, he or she will need beady red eyes (I used red Mike & Ikes, but Hot Tamales or Red Hots work too) and plenty of legs (black rope licorice works great).
Enjoy!
-Laurie Pony