Creepy Cupcakes

Total Time Prep: 30 min. Bake: 25 min. + cooling
Yield 9 cupcakes
Test Kitchen Approved
With chocolate bodies and licorice legs, these cute spiders on cobwebs will "catch" attention fast! They're easy to scare up, too—our Test Kitchen simply put a Halloween spin on cupcakes baked from a purchased mix. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 package devil's food cake mix (regular size)
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon 2% milk, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Red and yellow liquid food coloring or orange paste food coloring
  • 1 tablespoon baking cocoa
  • Round pastry tip #3
  • 9 chocolate kisses
  • 9 semisweet chocolate chips
  • Black shoestring licorice, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 18 white nonpareils

Directions

  1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions.
  2. Fill greased jumbo muffin cups with 1/2 cup batter. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Cut a thin slice off the top of each cupcake.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla; mix well. Remove 1 cup; tint orange and frost cupcakes. To the remaining frosting, add baking cocoa and remaining milk. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert round tip. Fill with chocolate frosting. Pipe a web on each cupcake; set remaining frosting aside.
  4. For spider, insert chocolate kiss, point side down, next to edge of cupcake. Insert chocolate chip, point side down, next to kiss. Place 4 licorice pieces on each side of kiss. For eyes, pipe 2 small circles of chocolate frosting on chocolate chip; insert nonpareils.

Nutrition Facts

1 cupcake: 628 calories, 26g fat (10g saturated fat), 87mg cholesterol, 587mg sodium, 95g carbohydrate (69g sugars, 2g fiber), 6g protein.

With chocolate bodies and licorice legs, these cute spiders on cobwebs will "catch" attention fast! They're easy to scare up, too—our Test Kitchen simply put a Halloween spin on cupcakes baked from a purchased mix. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Recipe Creator

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