How to Decorate Cupcakes the Halloween Way!

Halloween is a time of year when you can have complete control over the kind and style of food you create! Foods at this scary time of year can be creepy, funny, or awe-inspiring.

Even cupcakes that are generally the same can have subtle differences that can make any Halloween party a blast! Using simple decorating icing, you can make nearly identical cupcakes into magnificently unique party foods-along with a few chocolate chip cookies for "garnish!"

Following are a few simple tips on how to make q simple batch of uniform cupcakes into truly terrifying Halloween treats!

You will need:

-Cupcakes of any kind-unfrosted; preferably an even number.
-Purple cake icing
-A frosting or butter knife.
-Halloween-themed sprinkles of varying kinds.
-Orange decorating icing with piping tips.

The first thing you will need to do is spread the base icing (in this case the purple frosting) on the top of each cupcake as smoothly as possible. You will need a smooth layer in order for the decorations to look their best. Repeat for all cupcakes.

Take the orange decorating icing, and attach the star (serrated) tip to the tube. Next, pipe a circle all around the circumference of the top of the cupcake. Then, pipe a smaller, concentric circle on the cupcake. Finally, make a star in the center by holding the tube vertically and squeezing a small amount of icing onto the cupcake.

To make the asterisk style of cupcake decoration, use the star tip to make criss-crossing lines across the paper as shown. As the lines layer higher and higher on top of each other, you may find it necessary to leave a slight gap in the thread of icing to keep the decoration from rising too high.

To make the spider web decoration, use the writing (thin line) tip to make three concentric circles and a center dot on thr cupcake. Then, take a butter knife and drag out the icing at uniform angles to make a web-like design. Finally, pipe more icing to cover the drag lines.

Add the sprinkles of your choice to each cupcake. Using a variety of sprinkle types will make your cupcakes more unique and interesting. Let your imagination guide you!

When you finish decorating the cupcakes, serve them with some cookies as shown to provide the perfect Halloween treat to your party guests!

Enjoy your unique Halloween cupcakes and show your guests you are the real *spirit* of fun! Thanks for trying!!!

-NK