Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We’re done with all of our baking, but I’m still working on editing and uploading the pictures of all of our Christmas Cookies.

I thought I’d wet your appetite by giving you a glimpse of my Cupcakes I’ve entered into the “Hello, Cupcake” Challenge on Facebook.

“Hello, Cupcake” is my most favorite cupcake book. I’ve talked about it plenty on this blog and made a few of their designs. I thought I would forever be copying their ideas until they challenged me to come up with one of my own.

“What’s New Cupcake?” is the new book being released in April 2010, created by the same authors as “Hello Cupcake.” In honor of their new book they are holding a cupcake contest on Facebook… Here are the details:

“Want to win an autographed copy of What’s New, Cupcake? Want to show off your cupcaking skills?
During this baking season, show off your talents by coming up with a new cupcake design using only cupcakes, frosting, and one or all of the following candies:
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
Marshmallows
Gummy bears
Wafer cookies
M&M’s Minis
Submission deadline is January 31, 2010. You have a chance to win one of five books when they are published in April.”

So here’s what I came up with…

It’s the Big Guy Himself. Santa!

His eyes and hat pom-pom are made from mini marshmallows. Everything else is cupcake and frosting.

This is Frank. He is the most stable of all the Elves.

Frank’s hat is rimmed with mini M&Ms and his hat pom-pom is a mini marshmallow.

This is Kissy. She’s a sweety. Harmless. Basically stable as well.

Frank is proposing to her on Christmas Eve….. shhhhhhhh! Don’t let the secret out.

This is Howard. He’s a good guy… just a little paranoid. He’s always freaking out and lives in a perpetual state of shock.

“Prancer’s a girl?!

“Santa’s my uncle??!!!

“No trans fat” doesn’t truly mean, NO trans fat???!!!

And this is Bucky. Clearly… not stable.

And I like to try and stick to that rule from Bambi about how, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all,” so… we’ll move on.

And last but not least, a reindeer who needs no introductions, the guiding light to Santa’s sleigh even on the foggiest of nights….

Pinnochio!

Doh!

I mean… Rudolph. Rudolph!

Sorry about that buddy. Honest mistake. No hard feelings I hope.

Rudolph’s antlers are made from gummy bears covered in frosting and stuck on toothpicks, inserted into the cupcake. They are also adorned with mini M&Ms.

And that’s the crew.

Things really slow down for them come December 26th so they are super excited about being involved in a cupcake contest.

I didn’t use any Cookie Wafers or Jelly Beans… I hope that’s okay.

If you want to try your hand at some new cupcake designs, head on over to the “Hello Cupcake Challenge” on Facebook” and give it a whirl. If you don’t want to give it a try you can still head on over and check out all the other fun ideas people are submitting.

Contest runs until January 31, 2010.

Merry Christmas!!! And Happy Cupcakey! (Not a real phrase.. but it should be.)

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These do not go on your Christmas tree.

These DO go in your mouth.

These DO go best in your kids mouths due to the amount of frosting, sprinkles, and candy… with a little bit of cupcake.

These DO make adorable gifts, great centerpieces, and fantastic Christmas Party treats.

I decided to start off with Red Velvet Cake!

I made mine from scratch by following the recipe in “The Pioneer Woman Cooks.”

If you don’t DO “from scratch” you can still DO Red Velvet.

It’s the perfect festive Cupcake for these pretty little Ornaments.

This totally looks like icing.

It’s not.

This is my cake batter…. in a Ziploc.

Snip the corner off…

And pipe your batter into your cupcake papers.

I’ve found this to be the best method for getting equal portions into each cup, and avoiding a mess… well… almost.

Just look at these gorgeous little things!

The next step is to frost each cupcake with an even smooth layer, using a butter knife, and then roll the tops in bowls of colored sprinkling sugar.

If you want to get really fancy you can make different color frostings to match your sprinkles.

I didn’t have any food coloring on hand, so I just used white frosting for all of mine.

Store bought frosting, Homemade frosting, Creme Cheese frosting, Butter-creme Frosting, …. pretty much any thick, white, frosting will do.

What these cupcakes absolutely require, is a great candy supply for decorating.

I bought my sprinkles and dragees (the shiny ball sprinkles) at a JoAnne’s Fabrics and Craft Store.

The other great place to get AWESOME decorating candy for Cookies, Gingerbread Houses, and Cupcakes, is at your mall Candy Store.

You know… the one with all the bins you can scoop from.

It’s so convenient to be able to dish out just the perfect amount for your project.

Staring at all those bins of goodies is sure to spark all kinds of new decorating ideas.

What you absolutely must have for these cupcakes are:

Mini M&M’s

Smooth thin Licorice Rope in black and red (other colors too if you can find it)

Spice drops

Have you seen these before?

These are chocolate and candy coated Sunflower Seeds. Basically Sunflower Seed M&M’s… but not made by the M&M company.

These are also available at some mall candy stores… That’s where I got mine.

I love these for decorating Christmas treats because they are shaped just like Christmas lights. They look adorable on Christmas tree cookies, lining the roofs of Gingerbread houses, and on these Ornament Cupcakes.

Here are your ingredients for making the Cupcake Ornament Toppers.

Spice Drops, Black Licorice Rope, and Pretzels.

Poke a hole in the rounded top of a spice drop using a toothpick.

Insert the pretzel.

Make two more holes; one on each side of the top of the spice drop, with a toothpick.

Cut a small piece of black licorice rope, and insert it into the top holes so that it forms a rounded loop.

See?

Cool huh!

The pretzels allow you to insert the toppers into the cupcake and make them stick in place just where you want them to.

I ended up breaking my pretzel sticks in half so they didn’t poke out the bottom of the cake.

Next you need some good ol’ Fruit by the Foot.

These red ones were already cut in perfect ornament, decorating, shapes.

You can also use Starburst Chews for this and just flatten them out with a rolling pin.

The blue Fruit by the Foot was not already cut into shapes.

This nifty little Fondant Cutter that I found at the craft store came in handy for making elaborate edges.

You can also use fancy edged scrapbooking scissors, or if you’re really talented… a sharp kitchen knife and your own imagination.

There aren’t any rules.

Just cut some fun and frilly shapes to put on your cupcakes.

When you make (or buy) your frosting, set some aside in a Sandwich Bag. This will be the glue that holds all your decorations onto your sugar coated cupcakes.

Using your spice drop tops, bag of gluing frosting, candy, and Fruit Snack strips… start decorating.

They look really cute too if you put some of the spice drop tops on the edge, and others right in the middle of the cupcakes.

It gives a perspective that each one is laying differently.

Once again this idea orginated from my favorite Cupcake Book – “Hello, Cupcake.” (Which by the way would make a FANTASTIC Christmas Gift!)

When you’re done, line them all up and marvel at your masterpieces.

Here’s What You Need…

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Thick white frosting – store bought or homemade (Food Coloring if you want to use Colored Frostings)

Cupcake Papers

Pretzel Sticks

Fruit by the Foot

Fondant Cutter or Scrapbooking scissors

Colored Sprinkling Sugars

Spice Drops

Thin, smooth, licorice rope in red and black (more colors optional)

Mini M&M’s

Candy Coated Sunflower Seeds – optional

Dragees – Shiny ball sprinkles – optional

Whatever else your heart desires.

Fa – la – la – la – la…. la – la…. la…. la!

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This is a cute little Turkey Cupcake with a Cookie place-card. He is sure to make Thanksgiving special for all of your guests this year if you are willing to take the time to make him.

The inspiration for him came from my Cupcake Book of Brilliance which I’ve mentioned before. I changed some of the design and ingredients, and learned some helpful tips that weren’t in the book.

I’m really more of a cake decorator, than a cake baker. I’m always so anxious to get to the decorating part, that I rarely have the patience to bake from scratch. Kind of that Semi-Homemade approach.

For these cute little Turkey cupcakes, I chose a boxed Spice Cake mix and a pre-made Coconut Pecan frosting… you know…the kind that you only see on top of German Chocolate Cake?

I’m not quite sure why everyone reserves this stuff for German Chocolate Cake only.  It’s so delicious!

It should be included in all kinds of recipes.

Hey, there’s a thought… See how many new and amazing desserts you can come up with using Coconut Pecan Frosting. Imagine it on top of a Lemon Cake, Carrot Cake… Brownies… Mmmmmmmmm.

Ok.. let’s get back to the Turkeys.

Each turkey needs one Large cupcake, and one Mini cupcake. A standard cupcake is the size in between these two, and not a size used in this recipe. Set your regular cupcake pan aside and go for Large and Mini. One box of mix and just less than two tubs of frosting will make twelve turkeys.  That’s twelve Large cupcakes and twelve Mini cupcakes altogether.

A shopping list of all the ingredients you’ll need is included at the bottom of this post. So put away your pencils and just enjoy the step by step journey from plain sad little muffin to Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcake Show-Stopper.

You can get your list together at the end.

After the cupcakes are baked and completely cooled it’s time to frost ALL OF THEM!

My recommendation is that you begin these decorating steps at least two days prior to Thanksgiving.

Because these cupcakes are going to sit out on display as place markers or a centerpiece for your feast, they need a couple of days to set up, so as not to slide into an oozy mess on your Dining Table. More about that sad, sad story in a bit.

And don’t worry… these decorated cupcakes taste even better after a couple of days than they do after they’re fist made. Just that little bit of time seems to give the flavors a chance to develop, mingle, and marry into something TOTALLY YUMMY!

The last step to do on the Large cupcakes, prior to Thanksgiving day, is to roll their edges in chocolate sprinkles.

Now it’s on to the Turkey faces. Take one single Candy Corn and press it into a Mini cupcake as the beak. Instead of pressing it right into the center of the cake, scoot it closer to the edge, making that the bottom part of the Turkey head.

The next thing you need is a good ol’ lunch snack to make your gizzard.

The Fruit by the Foot packs I found came already sliced into three strands.  All I had to do was use a sharp knife to round the bottoms and cut the gizzards to size. When cutting the gizzards, it’s best to cut them at an angle. The pointed, angled tip that is created, is easier to discretely wrap up around the beak, than a blunt square end.

The gizzards should be long enough to slightly hang down past the bottom of your Mini cupcakes.

This little guy is really starting to look like a Turkey.

In addition to the two tubs of Coconut Pecan Frosting, you’ll also need one tub of dark chocolate frosting.  You won’t use the whole tub.  In fact I didn’t even use the entire bag worth shown in this picture.

Not only is this chocolate frosting used on your eyes and place cards, it is also the unseen glue that holds many of your pieces together. More about that later.

Using your piping bag of Dark Chocolate frosting, pipe on two little eyes. Don’t worry if you have a hard time getting your eyes flat. When using a piping bag you’ll end up having an unavoidable spike of frosting where the dollop doesn’t want to let go of the frosting in the bag. Just dip the tip of your finger under a water faucet and shake the excess water off. Dab your barely wet finger gently onto the little frosting eye, and then that rebellious frosting spike will smooth right out.

Now this Turkey face looks pretty good, but just a little bit soul-less don’t you think?

That’s where these come in. Just your every day little tiny ball-shaped sprinkles. Their official name is Nonpareils.  You can find them in any grocery store baking aisle if you don’t already have some in your cupboards.

Pour a few out into a bowl. You’re only going to use the white ones. Press your barely wet, now slightly sticky, eye smoothing finger onto a white sprinkle to pick it up, and then place it off center in a turkey eye.

There’s that turkey soul!

The wonder. The sparkle. The life. The aspirations to grow up and become Thanksgiving Dinner… or in this case… Desert!

It’s best if you place the white sprinkles off to one side, and make it the same side on each eye. Otherwise you’ll end up with a cross-eyed Turkey. Then again… if it’s the Turkey which will boast the Place-Card name “Uncle”, cross-eyed and crazy might be Just Right!

The last step in creating your cute little Turkey heads is to place on the hair… or probably what should really be called the Head Feathers.

You can just lay a few sprinkles on there in a pile, but they tend to all fall down flat. I prefer to search for the longest sprinkles I can find in the tub, and place each one individually into the frosting, standing on end.

It just looks so cute that way.

Changing the position of the white sprinkles in the eyes, and the amount and placement of the sprinkles for hair, will give each of your Turkeys a bit of their own character.

Repeat the above steps until you have twelve Turkey bodies and twelve Turkey heads, or however many you’re going to need for your Turkey Day Feast.

My advice at this point is to keep all of the decorated heads and bodies disassembled.  Both the Mini and the Large decorated cupcakes should be placed in covered Tupperware containers and stored in a cool dry place where they won’t be bothered for at least two days.

Here is a Turkey that did NOT sit for two days.

I made this little guy (and a few others) only one hour prior to taking this picture.

This is not the site you want your guests stumbling upon as they show up for Thanksgiving Dinner!

Can you imagine?!

You set your perfect looking Turkey cupcakes out on the table with PRIDE, and head back to the kitchen to mash the mashed potatoes, finish the vegetable plate, and put the punch together. Your guests begin to arrive and after you’ve greeted them and subliminally encouraged them in towards the BEAUTIFUL dining room table where your Turkey Cupcakes are, you head back to the kitchen and wait for the ooohs and ahhhhs to start pouring in.

But… before you hear any shrieks of glee as family members discover their names ever so cleverly placed next to an adorable little cupcake that looks like a Turkey, you feel a tiny little tug on the back of your pant leg, and you know right away who it is.

It’s your three year old.

“Mommy, why are your Turkeys so sad? What’s wrong with them Mommy? What happened to them?”

You pause, alarmed, but hopeful. Hopeful that this is just one of those moments when your child has interpreted something very, very wrong.

But then you hear it… Hollering from the other room your loudmouth younger brother (who supposedly is now an adult according to his number of years on the planet, but still, nobody is buying it) yells out,

“Hey sis… what’s this thing out here, dying next to my name? Do you expect me to look at this while I try and eat Thanksgiving Dinner? Somebody get a paper towel.”

No no. This is not how any of us wants our Thanksgiving to go.

Now, many bakers and cupcake makers only show you their best work and may try to appear as though their skills are immaculate. Here at MommyTopics.com I am 100% committed to keeping it real, and in every area of life… often… things go very wrong.

But there is hope.

This experience taught me what to do, and what not to do, and now I can share both with you!

See these three little Turkeys?

The ones on the right and on the left that are melting and falling apart were made from start to finish on the day these photos were taken. The little guy in the middle was part of the practice batch I made two days prior to these photos being taken.  When I made that Turkey with the uncle sign, I made his head and body and did not attach them.  I let them sit in covered Tupperware as two separate pieces for two days. This allowed time for all the frosting to set and he also tasted better than the other two melty Turkeys.

So, my advice is to make all the heads and all the bodies, and then put them away for two days sitting just like this in containers.

I didn’t try refrigerating any of these, but I wouldn’t recommend trying it. I’d be nervous about the frosting drying out so much that it starts to crack and discolor. Cupcakes do just fine left out on counters or put away in cupboards as long as they are kept covered, cool, and dry.

On Thanksgiving morning it’s time to make your name cards. Making these early causes them to soften and lose their crispiness. They still look ok two days later, but they are not much fun to bite into. Making them the morning of is a good thing anyway because you often don’t know exactly who all is coming until the last minute.

You could leave a few extra cookies out in the kitchen to quickly write new names on as unexpected guests arrive.

Or, you could just make some extra Place-cards that say, “Turkey”. Wouldn’t that be a fitting title for those who show up unannounced.

All you do to make these sweet little cookie Place-Cards is use the same bag of Dark chocolate icing that you used for the eyes, and in your best handwriting pipe away!

You could practice first on a paper towel or parchment paper until you get the hang of it. You’ll also have plenty of extra cookies in the box for mess ups.

On Thanksgiving morning, you’ll also want to make your cookie tails. You absolutely cannot make these in advance because after two days they become so soggy they won’t stand up on your turkeys. They will just crumble when you try to pick them up.

Here is something new that I learned.

Did you know that there is something called Indian Corn? I had never noticed it before.

There is of course the Candy Corn we’re all used too, but I had never seen Indian Corn before, which is almost the same thing except that it’s bottom stripe is brown and tastes like Chocolate. You definitely want to use regular candy corn for your beak and feet, but the Indian Corn adds some great color and taste to your Turkey tails.

Lay out the Ginger Thins, and don’t worry if some of the edges are a bit crumbled. Those minor defects can be covered up by the candy or hidden on the side that is pressed into the cupcake.

From now on, your chocolate icing is going to be your glue that holds everything together.

I found that the Candy Corn and Indian Corn fit best onto the cookies if placed in a pattern of: middle of hump, between two humps, middle of hump, between two humps, middle of hump, between two humps… and that’s it. Just five pieces to each cookie, and the bottom half left bare, to press into the cupcake.

And again, making each tail different just adds individual character to each Turkey and an arrangement of colors to your table.

Next come the Marshmallows.

Caught you by surprise didn’t I?

Come on, admit it. You had no idea there were giant Marshmallows hidden on these Turkeys.

The Marshmallows are what are going to prop up your Turkey tails.

Use a sharp knife to cut them in half diagonally.

To make twelve Turkeys, you only need six Marshmallows.

Place one half of the Marshmallow on your Large cupcake like this.

Apply some of your Chocolate frosting to the round flat top of the Marshmallow.

Press a tail gently down into the cupcake and then gently back against the chocolate icing on the Marshmallow, to secure it in place. It shouldn’t stand strait up, but rather should rest at an angle.

Now, apply some more of your Chocolate frosting like a half moon on the base of your Turkey Tail.

Choose a cute little Turkey head, and press it gently at an angle down into your cupcake, and against the Chocolate icing on the tail to secure it in place.

Ta-dah! You did it! Isn’t he just the cutest?

Go on… give him a couple little Candy Corn feet. Nothing fancy… just lay them there next to him.

And now for the Pièce de résistance….. Give him a name.

This final touch is what will thrill your guests and make them feel special.

Now take them to the table and set them up.

They can go on plates, or next to plates.

They can go in the center of the table around a centerpiece or be scattered down the center of a long table if you don’t want them to mark individual places.

Or they could be displayed like this in the Kitchen or on a side table.

Wherever you choose to place them, I’m sure they will thrill your guests.

So let’s get down to the nitty gritty…

What You Need…

- 1 box Spice Cake Mix

- Large Cupcake Pan

- Mini Cupcake Pan

- 12 Large White Cupcake papers

- 12 Mini White Cupcake papers

- 2 tubs Coconut Pecan Frosting

- 1 tub Dark Chocolate Frosting

- Piping Bag or Sandwich Bag for Icing

- 1 Bag Candy Corn

- 1 Bag Indian Corn

- 1 Tub Chocolate Sprinkles

- 1 Jar Nonpareils

- 1 roll of red Fruit by the Foot

- 1 box Almond Thins

- 1 box Anna’s Ginger Thins

- 6 standard size Marshmallows

Makes 12 Turkeys

And if you’ve never purchased some of these ingredients before, and are wondering where to get them, and would rather not drive from store to store finding a couple items here and a couple items there…

I purchased every one of these ingredients at Wal-Mart.

Timing of Assembly for Best Results…

Day One:

Bake cupcakes and allow to cool completely.

Frost bodies and roll edges in Chocolate Sprinkles.

Frost faces and assemble all face details.

Set Large and Mini cupcakes aside in cool dry place, covered for two days.

Thanksgiving Morning:

Create Name Place-Cards and Tails.

Set aside in cool dry place and allow to dry and set up.

Before Guests Arrive:

Assemble Turkeys and place for display.

If you decide to make these Turkey cupcakes or some variation of them for Thanksgiving, PLEASE send me photos! I’d love to see your creativity at work.

Send photos and stories by email to: Rachymommy@mommytopics.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

“O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His Name: make known His deeds among the people.”

- Psalm 105:1

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I just love talented, imaginative people and this book is certainly a product of those type of folks.

I received this book for Mother’s Day this year and I am just in love with it.  My kids love it too.  You can tell by the bent lower corner that it has gotten some use.  I often can’t find this book when I need it because my kids have wandered off with it just to sit and look at the pictures.

Inside there are more than a dozen cupcake and frosting recipes, but the point of the book is really the imaginative designs and decorations.  Just look at all the fun candies they show you how to cut and shape into amazing details on cupcakes.

This page shows you all kinds of different face expressions you can achieve using candy, cereal, fruit snacks, and icing.

Now here is where the book becomes amazing. Each page is filled with the most impressive, whimsical, lovely cupcake designs you have ever seen.  Just look at this garden.  Wouldn’t it be fun to set up a kid’s Beatrix Potter book night with some friends and then eat these chocolate, Oreo cookie crumb topped treats?  They could be called, “Mr. McGregor’s Cupcakes.”

The radishes are red M&Ms with white chocolate points.  The Peas are green M&Ms tucked inside flattened, shaped, green Starbursts.  The carrots are molded orange Starbursts.  (I’m starting to sound like Willy Wonka here!) The little cabbages are… well… I guess you’re just going to have to buy the book to find out!  All of the instructions and supplies you need are included in the book.

Now look at this one.  There is no way these even look like cupcakes.  Those mashed potatoes are frosting covered with caramel and a yellow Starburst masquerading as butter.  The peas are green skittles and the carrots are orange Starburst chunks.  The drumsticks are built up cupcakes, frosted and coated in grahm cracker crumbs and topped off with white chocolate molded like a bone.  I think this would be a huge hit at one of those “Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties.”

And look! There are even cupcakes for the Man Cave!

And this is one of my personal favorites.  I can’t wait to make this one next Spring.  I just think it is ADORABLE!  Some of the cupcakes are decorated as little patches of grass with Robin Egg Candies on top.  And then you decorate a handful of cupcakes like bunny bums with their feet and tails in the air.  I love it!

I told you! The makers of this book are some very talented and imaginative people.  There are so many more cute ideas in this book but I don’t want to post them all here now.  That would take the fun out of discovering them for yourself if you choose to buy the book.  I also plan to make plenty of them in the future and would love to share them with you then.

You may have noticed these pumpkin cupcakes on my website header.  I’ve been counting down the days until October since Mother’s Day just waiting for Fall to get here so I could make these little beauties.  The cupcakes on my header are an actual photo I took of the ones I made.  I documented the process and I’ll post that on my site this month, so stay tuned for that…

It was so much fun!

You might notice that the ones I made are just a bit different than these.  They are missing the vines.

This yummy little item is called a Watermelon Fruit Streamer and it is made by Kellogg.  I’ve bought these for my kids in the past, but of course now that I truly need them I can’t find them anywhere.  I looked for them at Wal-Mart, Vons, Albertsons, Winco, Target, and CVS.  I really hope Kellogg’s hasn’t discontinued them.  I’m going to need them for some Christmas cupcakes.  If you happen to see them at a store near you… PLEASE let me know!

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