Creepy Cupcakes

Directions

1. Begin by coloring half of a standard can of vanilla frosting a light green shade. Prepare a piping bag fitted with a #104 ribbon tip. Fill the bag with alternating stripes of the green frosting and plain white frosting. Squeeze out long, wavy lines across the tops of your cupcakes. Position two purple M&M candies on each cupcake to serve as eyes. Continue piping the green and white ribbons in a zigzag motion so they partially overlap the eyes. Finish by dusting the tops with cocoa powder.
2. Color a full can of vanilla frosting orange. Scoop out half a cup of this orange frosting into a separate bowl and add more coloring to create a darker shade. Pour the darker mixture into a resealable plastic bag and trim a small corner from the bottom. Spread the lighter orange frosting over the cupcakes, then roll the tops in coarse orange sugar. Using the bag with the darker frosting, pipe curved lines that extend from the center to the edges. Shape stems and vines from green apple Jolly Rancher candies and attach them to the cupcakes.
3. Mix orange food coloring into half a cup of vanilla frosting, then place it in a resealable bag with a snipped corner for piping. Cover the cupcakes with the remaining plain vanilla frosting. Use black decorating gel to draw concentric circles on top. Take a toothpick and drag it outward from the center through the gel circles to create a spiderweb pattern. For the spider, position an orange M&M for the body and a mini orange M&M for the head. Pipe legs onto the spider using orange frosting. Dip a toothpick in the black gel to dot eyes onto the spider.
4. Tint a can of vanilla frosting a vibrant yellow-green. Heat it in a microwave-safe bowl using short bursts of five to ten seconds, stirring between intervals, until it becomes fluid enough to coat a spoon. For each monster, dip three-quarters of a chocolate-covered graham cracker into the warm frosting. Optionally, use a toothpick to drag the frosting upward for a hairy texture. Set the crackers on a wire rack to firm up slightly. Slice kiwi jelly beans in half crosswise. Attach the halves to the sides of the cracker for bolts and place one half in the center for a nose, allowing them to dry. Use red and black decorating gel tubes to add final details.
5. Color a can of vanilla frosting orange and use it to frost the cupcakes. Roll the edges in a mix of orange and black sprinkles. Use a mini peanut butter cup as the head for a bat. Fill a resealable bag with chocolate frosting, snip a corner, and pipe ears onto the candy head. Attach large orange nonpareils for eyes. Pipe a mouth with red frosting and add two yellow sprinkles as fangs. Cut a snack-sized peanut butter cup in half. Use a three-quarter-inch cookie cutter to remove two scalloped shapes from each straight edge of the candy halves to create wings.
6. Slice a large shredded wheat biscuit lengthwise in half, then cut those halves crosswise into thirds. Melt one cup of semisweet chocolate chips according to package instructions, then transfer the melted chocolate to a resealable bag with a snipped corner. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil. Pipe chocolate onto the uncut top section of a shredded wheat piece and press one end of a thin pretzel stick into it. Allow the assembly to dry completely. Frost the cupcakes with chocolate frosting, sprinkle with leaf-shaped decorations, and top with a small pumpkin candy. Lean the prepared shredded wheat piece against the cupcake to complete the look.