Halloween "Pupcakes"

Halloween is my second favorite Holiday, next to Christmas, and one of the things I look forward to the most is making goolish treats. This year I was fortunate to have started my employment in Dallas where I watch my 2 year old cousin Birdie. She will be the cute little blonde who will be in most of my entries through Christmas. This year me, Birdie and my aunt Stacy decided to make Halloween Cupcakes, or "pupcakes" as Birdie calls them. To make things easier we decided to go with a box cake mix, I like Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix, but it is really up to you on the brand. The reason I go for yellow cake mix is you can easily dye it with food coloring, add a few extra flavors such as Vanilla, Nutmeg and  Cinnamon for the Holidays (remember a little bit of nutmeg goes a long way).
I am NOT a fan of store bought icing, I think it tastes like paste mixed with way too much sugar, so I always make my own and it is really simple! If you buy a package of powdered sugar there is usually a recipe on the back, that is what we used. It is basically just Powdered Sugar, Butter, Vanilla, and maybe Milk or Water. I wanted chocolate icing so I just melted some chocolate chips in the microwave (a little bit at a time stirring a lot so they melt nicely) and added them to the mixture. 
Once they bake the fun part begins, decorating! I got sprinkles, marsh mellows, candy, and pretzel sticks and here are the results...

This is a great way to get into the Holidays! Carve pumpkins, make sweets! So if you missed Halloween it's ok because you have both Thanksgiving and Christmas to make up for it.Help brine the Turkey, make rolls and bread, pumpkin flavored things such as ravioli, tarts, and of course pies. And with the endless selection of cookie cutters these days you can make Thanksgiving and Christmas cookies! Just make sugar cookies, cut out shapes (not too thin), make icing and dye it, then decorate to your hearts content! Good colors for fall and Thanksgiving are brown, yellow, orange and black. Good Christmas colors are green, red and white. The Holidays really aren't the same with out family and food and when you can combine the two and make things everyone will enjoy it makes it that much more special! Happy Holiday Decorating!