To make these spooky Halloween cupcakes, use purchased red icing to pipe red zigzags atop white-frosted cupcakes. Place circle gummy candies on top of each Halloween cupcake, using white frosting to secure. Dip small doughnut holes in melted white chocolate or icing and place on top of gummy candies for eyes. Use icing to attach small chocolate candies to the tops of doughnut holes for the pupils. Frost each cupcake with chocolate frosting and cover with chocolate sprinkles. Cut a yellow gumdrop in half to use as eyes, then cut short pieces of black shoestring licorice to use as pupils, and press onto the cut side of each gumdrop half. Lightly press each gumdrop half into cupcakes to form eyes. Cut chocolate candy coating disks into triangles to serve as ears and press two triangles into the frosting from the side before using more black shoestring licorice to create the cats’ whiskers. To make this Halloween dessert, place a large white candy mint on top of a chocolate-frosted cupcake and decorate the face with brown icing. Arrange licorice pastels to make arms and legs, then place small mints at the bottom of the legs for the skeleton’s feet. Use white sprinkles to make the skeleton’s ribs. Editor’s Tip: Use gel paste food coloring to tint vanilla frosting orange. Add coloring until you reach the desired color. To make the monster cupcakes, frost them with orange icing and use a piping tip to add teal spikes. Then cut eyes from white fondant and pipe on black pupils and a mouth with a small round decorating tip. Cut teeth and nails from fondant, and attach the fondant features with a small damp brush. Follow these decorating tips to make this Halloween cupcake topper:

  1. Tint frosting green and ice the cupcake.
  2. Tint fondant green; shape into six curved and tapered arms.
  3. Use white icing and a small round decorating tip to pipe on suckers.
  4. For the bows, tint fondant pink and roll 1/16 inch thick. Cut two 1-1/2x1/4-inch strips. Fold ends toward the center and pinch together. Cut a 1/4-inch strip and wrap the center, flattening the ends on the back. To make this one, use green fondant to shape the features for whatever kind of monster you can dream up. When you’re ready, attach the fondant features with a damp brush. Curve a piece of black string licorice into a smile below the nose and place small pieces of licorice across the smile for teeth. Attach a wafer ice cream cone to the cupcake for a hat.

See luscious pumpkin dessert ideas here.

To make these Halloween-theme cupcakes, ice a chocolate graham cracker square with green-tinted frosting, leaving room at the top for hair. Place cracker on top of a frosted cupcake. Use chocolate frosting to make spiky hair and mouth, then cut a small marshmallow in half for the eyes. Dot chocolate frosting onto each marshmallow for pupils and place a dyed marshmallow on both sides of the cupcake for bolts. Test Kitchen Tip: To drive the spider theme home, make a “web” of drizzled white candy melts atop your serving platter.