GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD CUPCAKES
SWEET TREATS: Your ghosts and goblins will enjoy this Halloween- themed dessert in between rounds of trick- or- treating. Serve alongside pumpkin patch chili ( see recipe, Page 6) for a Halloween meal.
Ingredients
1 package ( two- layer size) white cake mix 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/ 4 teaspoons black food color, divided 2 ( 16- ounce) containers vanilla frosting 24 oval- shaped cookies Chocolate sprinkles ( for decoration) Miniature chocolate chips ( for decoration) Servings: makes 24 cupcakes Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: for the cupcakes
Prepare cake mix for cupcakes as directed on package, adding vanilla extract. Tint cake batter gray with 1/ 4 teaspoon black food color. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool cupcakes on wire rack. Tint 1 container vanilla frosting black with 1 teaspoon black food color. Frost cupcakes, reserving 1/ 4 cup of frosting. Spoon reserved frosting into small resealable plastic bag. Snip a small corner from bag. Pipe “RIP” onto top half of each cookie. Push tombstone cookies gently into cupcakes.
For each cupcake’s ghost, spoon remaining container of white frosting into large resealable plastic bag. Snip a corner from bag. For the body of the ghost, pipe 1/ 2- inch dollop next to tombstone. Pipe a smaller dollop on top, lifting while squeezing bag so that top of dollop is pointed. This is the head of the ghost. Use chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chips to decorate the ghost’s face.
Note: For easier measurement, 1/ 4 teaspoon food color is equal to 20 to 25 drops.