Creepy Cupcakes

Total Time

Prep: 30 min. Bake: 25 min. + cooling

Makes

9 cupcakes

Updated: Jun. 27, 2023
With chocolate bodies and licorice legs, these cute spiders on cobwebs will "catch" attention fast! They're easy to scare up, too—our Test Kitchen simply put a Halloween spin on cupcakes baked from a purchased mix. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 package devil's food cake mix (regular size)
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon 2% milk, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Red and yellow liquid food coloring or orange paste food coloring
  • 1 tablespoon baking cocoa
  • Round pastry tip #3
  • 9 chocolate kisses
  • 9 semisweet chocolate chips
  • Black shoestring licorice, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 18 white nonpareils

Directions

  1. Prepare cake mix according to package directions.
  2. Fill greased jumbo muffin cups with 1/2 cup batter. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Cut a thin slice off the top of each cupcake.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla; mix well. Remove 1 cup; tint orange and frost cupcakes. To the remaining frosting, add baking cocoa and remaining milk. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert round tip. Fill with chocolate frosting. Pipe a web on each cupcake; set remaining frosting aside.
  4. For spider, insert chocolate kiss, point side down, next to edge of cupcake. Insert chocolate chip, point side down, next to kiss. Place 4 licorice pieces on each side of kiss. For eyes, pipe 2 small circles of chocolate frosting on chocolate chip; insert nonpareils.

Nutrition Facts

1 cupcake: 628 calories, 26g fat (10g saturated fat), 87mg cholesterol, 587mg sodium, 95g carbohydrate (69g sugars, 2g fiber), 6g protein.