cupcakes | Mormon Mavens

Want a great alternative to candy, candy, candy for your kids or grand kids at Halloween time? These fun Bat Cupcakes are a great choice, and their little friends, clementine “pumpkins”, are a healthy sidekick. Pair these with some green milk and you have a great treat to serve.

Fall is my favorite season and each year I think of how cool it would be to host a little family Halloween party at my house–not quite to the standards of Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor–but fun, nonetheless. It would be mostly for my grandchildren, but I think the rest of the family would enjoy it, as well.

But alas, every year I let the precious moment slip by without doing anything but a quick goodie bag for the 3 grands that live close by and a rushed package sent out to the other two who live way out in Utah. I am lucky to even get it together in time for them to have their goodies before October 31st! Do ya feel me?

Well, this year I set the intention to do it, and I did! Yay me!

It wasn’t really a party, but we had a fun Taco Bar for supper and then I had the boys stay in the front room while I got out the treats and arranged them beside our Halloween Tree on the kitchen island.

Let’s just say that they loved the Taco Bar and were thrilled with their fun treats. I might make this a tradition and maybe add to it as we go.

Halloween Bat Cupcakes

2019-10-20 09:20:33

Serves 24

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Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 pkg. Oreo Mini Chocolate Creme Sandwich Cookies--crush 1 cup & save 24 whole cookies for the bat bodies
Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Chocolate Frosting (I made my own because I prefer that to the store-bought kind)
24 Keebler Grasshopper Cookies, cut in halves
White decorating cookie icing (you won't need a lot)
48 candy eyes

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular muffin cups. I doubled up on the papers because it just looks nicer when you take them out of the pan.
In a large bowl, beat cake mix, buttermilk, oil and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in crushed cookies. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
Frost cupcakes. Insert 1 grasshopper cookie half on each side of cupcake top to look like bat wings. Squeeze 2 small dots of icing onto each of the 24 mini Oreos and attach candy eyes. Place 1 mini Oreo between bat wings for the body.

Notes

The original recipe does not list food coloring as an ingredient, but makes reference to it in the instructions. They don’t mention a color so I added some black to darken the frosting. It doesn’t really need it because the bat is brown anyway. But, whatever squeals your wheels.

By Anna

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Honestly, these are some of the best cupcakes on the planet! The salt in the frosting is genius! The secret to these moist cupcakes? Reduced coconut milk.

Ingredients:

Reduced coconut milk:
(2) 13-14 oz cans unsweetened coconut milk

Cupcakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk, room temperature

Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, room temperature
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted (for garnish)

Directions:

For reduced coconut milk:

1. Bring coconut milk to boil in large deep sauce pan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce heat to medium-low; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25-30 minutes.

2. Remove from heat; cool completely. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

For cupcakes;

1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350. Line eighteen 1/3 cup muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth.

2. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg.

3. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended.

4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.

For frosting:

1. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from vanilla bean and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.

2. Using pastry bag fitted with large star tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. (Alternatively, top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons frosting. Using small offset spatula, swirl frosting over top of cupcakes, leaving 1/2 inch plain border.) Sprinkle with coconut.

Source: Epicurious