Winter Fantasy Star Cupcakes

Name: Winter Fantasy Star Cupcakes
Prep time: 55 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: varies.
Ingredients: 1 to 2 cans vanilla frosting (16 ounces each); Cupcakes of your choice; STAR:; Clear decorating sugar; Miniature silver dragees, optional; Nonstick foil or parchment paper; Blue, clear and/ or white hard candies; Additional vanilla frosting; Blue decorating sugar

Best-selling authors of the book Hello, Cupcake!, Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, spent a few days with us creating one-of-a-kind beauties that you can make at home—no special tools or talents required. Just bake your favorite cupcakes, have your favorite vanilla icing on hand and HAVE FUN!

Ingredients

1 to 2 cans vanilla frosting (16 ounces each)
Cupcakes of your choice
STAR:
Clear decorating sugar
Miniature silver dragees, optional
Nonstick foil or parchment paper
Blue, clear and/ or white hard candies
Additional vanilla frosting
Blue decorating sugar

Directions

Frost cupcakes, reserving some frosting for decorating as desired.
For star cupcakes: Place clear decorating sugar in a small shallow bowl; stir in miniature dragees if desired. (Dragees are not edible and are for decorative use only.) Roll top edge of each cupcake in sugar to form a decorative rim. Set aside.
Line a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with nonstick foil. Crush candies in desired color to yield about 1 cup. Place in prepared pan, spreading candy to about 1/4-in. thickness. Bake at 350° for 3-5 minutes or until melted. Meanwhile, coat 6-8 metal star-shaped cookie cutters with cooking spray.
Remove pan from the oven; press prepared cutters into melted candy. Let stand until just before candy is set; remove cutters. (Reheat scraps in the oven if desired.)
Add frosting to a small resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in corner of bag. Pipe frosting around edges of stars; top with decorating sugars and miniature dragees as desired. Press stars onto top of cupcake; secure with additional frosting if needed.

Originally published as Winter Fantasy Cupcakes in Taste of Home December/January 2009