CANDY DECORATED CUPCAKES RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the sugar, water, oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla until combined. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to egg mixture until blended. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full., For filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, salt and food coloring. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls into the center of each cupcake. , Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake part of cupcake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and food coloring. Add enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Frost cupcakes. , Poke shoestring licorice pieces into marshmallows to create antennae; insert into cupcakes. Use candies to decorate alien faces. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.
• Place cake mix in a bowl, and pour in water and vegetable oil; add 3 eggs. With electric mixer on low speed, beat the cake mix with water, oil, and eggs until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Pour half the cake mix into a second bowl; divide the remaining cake mix in half, and place into 2 separate small bowls.
• Color the largest portion of the cake mix orange by mixing in 4 drops of red food coloring and 6 drops of yellow food coloring. Into a second, smaller bowl of cake mix, mix in 10 drops of red food coloring, 12 drops of yellow food coloring, and 6 drops of green food coloring, to color that bowl brown. Into the last remaining small bowl of cake mix, stir in 5 drops of yellow food coloring to color that bowl yellow.
• Spoon yellow cake batter into the bottoms of 12 prepared cupcake cups, filling them about 1/3 full. Spoon the brown batter into the bottoms of the remaining 12 prepared cupcake cups, filling them about 1/3 full. Spoon orange cupcake mix over the yellow and brown layers, filling the cupcakes about 2/3 full. Try not to jar or shake the filled cupcakes, to avoid mixing layers.
• Carefully place cupcakes into the preheated oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Allow to cool.
• Frost each cooled cupcake with the white frosting; place a piece of yellow, orange, and white candy corn on top of each yellow and orange cupcake. Place a brown, orange, and white piece of candy corn on top of each brown and orange cupcake.