Easy Cupcakes

Pumpkin by fence cupcake

I got the idea for this cupcake from a Halloween flier at Joann’s craft and fabric store. My husband said, “What is this–a pumpkin by a goalpost? I think it’s cute: a pretzel fence and that ever-popular Halloween candy, the mellocreme pumpkin.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted green; a bit of white frosting; 5 stick pretzels; 1 mellowcreme pumpkin.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake green. Use dabs of white frosting to stick pretzels together like a fence. Stick into cupcake. Add mellocreme pumpkin.

Bat cupcake

These Halloween bat cupcakes are so easy, they’ll fly out of your kitchen. Just like that bad pun should have.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or cream cheese frosting; 1 chocolate-covered thin mint candies (these are by Necco); 1 mini Oreo cookie; two red hot candies (cinnamon imperials).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use dabs of icing to secure red hots to Oreo for bat eyes. Place in center of cupcake. Cut mint in half using knife. Add, at an angle with cut sides facing up, to left and right of Oreo for wings.

Halloween Peep cupcake

What could be simpler than popping a marshmallow Peep on a cupcake?

What You Need: 1 cupcake; orange frosting; Halloween sprinkles (I just used Pillsbury’s Halloween frosting and the sprinkles that came with it); orange jack ‘o lantern Peep.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake, making a small mound of frosting in the center. Place Peep in center. Sprinkle sprinkles around edge of cupcake.

Nonpareil spotted spider cupcake

Make an easy spotted spider cupcake for Halloween using nonpareil candies. (They’re chocolate wafers coated in little white ball thingies.)

What You Need: 1 cupcake; orange icing (we just used Pillsbury’s Halloween icing); 2 red hot cinnamon imperials; black writing icing or gel in tube.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use dab of icing to stick red candy eyes to nonpareil wafer. Place in center of cupcake. Use black gel or icing to draw eight legs.

Jack O' Lantern cupcake

Gel or writing icing already in the tubes make it easy for everyone to decorate jack o’ lantern cupcakes with their own creative twist.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; orange frosting; green and black gel or writing icing in tubes (We use CakeMate and Wilton). (You could also use a pastry bag with a round tip attached.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake orange, like a pumpkin. Let set for a few minutes. Use tubes to “draw” jack o’ lantern face.

Scarecrow cupcake with pretzel hat

I saw in a magazine where someone had used one of those waffle-looking pretzels as a scarecrow’s hat and just had to try it. The hair is crumbled-up shredded wheat. Great for Halloween or fall parties.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 1 square pretzel; spoon-size shredded wheat; 2 orange jellybeans (or M&Ms or other oval or round candy); red mini M&M or red hot or similar candy; 4 chocolate chips or 7-8 mini chocolate chips; black writing icing (optional).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Stick pretzel into top of cupcake for hat. Crumble up shredded wheat and place under “hat” for hair. Add jellybean eyes, red candy nose and curve of upside-down chocolate chips for mouth. Add pupils to eyes using black writing icing if you’d like.

Halloween owl

Cute yet slightly spooky, these brown owls are a “hoot” (sorry!) for Halloween parties. Just pop on a few candies and you’re done!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 2 yellowish LifeSavers (banana, lemon or butterrum work well); 2 red hot candies (aka cinnamon imperials); candy corn (with yellow or brown ends; regular size or wide candy corn).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place 2 LifeSavers for eyes and use dab of icing to stick red hot in center of each. Add candy corn nose.