A big pile of cupcakes!

Make everyone smile with a stack of three colorful cupcakes! Made with peanut butter cups, these mini-cupcake decorations are SO yummy with the chocolate cupcake they top. The occasions you could serve these at are endless. What a fun New Year’s Eve party treat, or birthdays? What about a Dr. Seuss themed party? SO much fun!!!! Here’s how to put them together:

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (with oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
2 sticks (8 oz) salted butter (softened)
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter (softened)
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 tsp clear vanilla
24 Reese’s miniature peanut butter cups (unwrapped)
24 Reese’s minis peanut butter cups
Wilton Icing Colors
sprinkles, jimmies to decorate cupcakes

DIRECTIONS:

Make cupcakes according to the box. I used brown cupcake liners to match the chocolate on the peanut butter cup toppers.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Make butter cream frosting by combining butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy.
Divide frostings into bowls and color using icing gels. I made 5 colors, but you can do however many you want.
Pipe frostings on top of cupcakes and (using a smaller tip) pipe frosting on top of the two sizes of peanut butter cups. (I clipped both corners of a zip top bag and put the large tip in one and the small in the other. I piped the large cupcakes 1st and then squeezed the remaining frosting into the other corner and piped the frosting on the Reese’s cups.)
Gently stack the tiny cupcake on the medium and the medium on the full-size. (this buttercream recipe worked GREAT for these- it is nice and firm and hardens just a bit as it sets. I didn’t lose even ONE topping!)
Decorate with sugars and jimmies as desired I used Red Sixlets Candy for the large cupcakes and they looked so cute- like cherries!

Aren’t they fun? I just couldn’t stop taking pictures!

My thoughts: Goodness these cupcakes made me happy. My friend Danielle and I made them together and we both kept saying, “Ah! They are so CUTE!” My neighbors and coworkers were the recipients of these treats and the smiles when they saw them made my day! I love easy ideas that are high on the “WOW” factor. To give credit where it is due, my friend Megan from Happily Ever After Cakes pointed this idea out to me on Edible Crafts. They had only used one cupcake topper, but I love it so much with two!! Enjoy!!!!!! ~r