Halloween is such a fun time for colorful, fun food! But it doesn’t always need to be spooky or scary! These are two recipes for celebrating your fall and Halloween season in style. The candy corn cupcakes are delicious and have a great wow factor!
The orange pumpkins are a healthy but adorable alternative to all the sugar kids get during the fall season! And both recipes celebrate harvest time with a less gory and scary theme than traditional Halloween party food!
Here are some ideas on making your Candy Corn Cupcakes the yummiest ones on the block!
3 Tips – for making Candy Corn Cupcakes Rock!
1. Use a quality cake mix – but doctor it up! Duncan Hines & Betty Crocker turn out the best, but ignore the box directions and instead do this:
- 1 box mix (white cake mix if you’re adding color like above)
- 1 Cup of Water
- 1/2 Cup butter, melted
- 3 Large Eggs
Melt the butter in the microwave oven, add the water, cake mix, and eggs in large bowl. Mix on low for 60 second, then turn mixer to high for addition 60 seconds. Fill cupcake wrappers half full, and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
2. Use gel food coloring meant for frosting for truer cake batter color. I used Wilton’s gel food coloring in orange and yellow. I separated the batter in half and used 1/2 Teaspoon per half.
3. Use the freezer to keep your layers straight! Once you have put the yellow color in – lay your tray in the freeze for 10 minutes to firm up that layer before you pour your orange batter on top. This will help prevent that tie dye look of the two batters intermixing. Be sure to let the cupcake batter sit for 10 more minutes after its been filled with all the colors so it comes back closer to room temperature before baking!
Orange Pumpkins –
- Buy the small clementine oranges that are easy to peel! Not only will it save your hands, but you will be less likely to bruise the inside flesh of the orange.
- You can use any kind of green candy for the stem. I used Rips cut in half, but green jelly beans or liquorice would also work great!
- If you make Pumpkin oranges the night before you want to serve them, be sure to put plastic wrap over them and store in the fridge. Otherwise the white pith of the orange will turn hard and will cause the pumpkins to look puckered or rough.
Happy Halloween! I’d love to know what your favorite Fall foods are! Check out this video of how I made the candy corn cupcakes if you’d like a visual! And if your ready to move on to Halloween decor, check out these Halloween crafts!
Other Costume Ideas:
DIY Statue of Liberty Costume!
Character from a Book – Matilda Costume!
Halloween Crafts & Snacks:
Make your own Halloween Gel Clings!
Candy Corn Cupcakes & Pumpkin oranges!
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
Oh my goodness…While I would be tempted by the cupcakes….those little pumpkins would be what I would choose. And how absolutely adorable??? Love this idea!!!
@Mitzi, Thanks Mitzi! They were yummy…but I agree the oranges are cute and healthy which is a win win! 🙂
The oranges are such a great idea! What a wonderful treat to send in for Halloween!