Sweetie Cupcakes, not surprisingly, attract and delight many a child of any age who come into our bakery. Our own children also request them over and over again for special occasions—and they can participate in the decorating process.–Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas
LC You Did What With The Leftover Halloween Candy? Note
We could all use a nifty trick or two for dispensing with leftover Halloween candy—and by ‘trick” we really mean get-it-the-heck-out-of-my-face tactic. That’s why we love the notion of anointing cupcakes with dribs and drabs of leftover candy and deeming them giftable. Cuz you can’t really bestow five M&Ms, a few SweeTarts, and a lone Tootsie Roll on friends, family, and neighbors and expect them to be appreciative. But you can surprise them with a plate of home-baked cupcake smothered with said stragglers and not only earn their thanks, but get the toothache-inducing temptation the heck out of the house. In so doing, you also teach your covetous little trick-or-treaters a valuable lesson in how calories are neither created nor destroyed, but instead migrate from one pair of hips to the next. Speaking of essential lessons regarding Halloween candy, have you seen this video from Jimmy Kimmel on the waterworks display you’ll encounter should you lie to your children as to the whereabouts of their Halloween candy? We know, it’s sooo last year, but the video still tugs at us each time we watch it—especially the two little brothers at the end.
Sweetie Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 12 cupcakes any flavor, whether white or coconut or chocolate or whatever you crave
- 1 batch buttercream or other frosting preferably chocolate, whether bittersweet or Nutella
- Assorted candies in an array of colors, such as M&M’s, candy necklaces, gummy candies, chocolate-covered malted milk balls, wee candy bars, marshmallows, sprinkles, or so forth
Directions
- Frost the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream. (You can use vanilla buttercream, although we prefer chocolate because it takes longer for the frosting to firm up, giving you and your wee ones more time to decide on which sweets to use as decorations before the frosting sets.)
- Immediately go footloose and fancy-free, plopping sweets of varying shapes, sizes, and colors onto each cupcake quickly before the frosting sets. We find it better to use too many candies rather than too few, so heap them on without hesitation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
The thing about this recipe that I most love? The fact that it’s not a recipe. It’s a suggestion, an inspiration. As such, it allows you to do what you will. So there’s no wondering or worrying or hand-wringing over whether the cupcakes will turn out moist or if the frosting will be as silken smooth and luscious as your mom’s buttercream. Go ahead and use your most trusted recipes here—or, if you’re in a pinch, go with bakery-made cupcakes—as well as whatever leftover candy is driving you insane just sitting there and tempting you. In truth, this is simply a decorating suggestion that’s too clever for us not to post seeing as it gets the temptation out of the house.
Originally published November 01, 2012
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Just love your daily updates. They brighten my day here in Norfolk, UK.
Dawn, were kinder words ever typed?! Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, which are still racing from the surge of Halloween sugar….