I spotted these candy cane topped cupcakes on Pinterest and instantly loved them!  They are perfect for a holiday party and it turns out it’s really easy to shape candy canes!  According to Bickiboo Party Supplies you simply place unwrapped, large, candy canes on a parchment paper or silicon lined baking sheet  in a 250 degree F oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes the war candy canes can be lifted off the tray and formed by hand or cut with scissors to your desired shape.

One of ATC’s sponsors, Angel Heart Designs, has some really great new cupcake items.  Consider them as you are doing your holiday shopping this year!  Here are some of the latest offerings…

Like cupcake trinket boxes…

This holiday cupcake night light…

And these beautiful holiday cupcake ornaments…

Are you wanting to go for a cupcake-themed Christmas tree this year, or just wanting to spruce up your current ornament collection with a few cupcakes?  I was at Target on Black Friday and I stumbled upon these cute cupcake ornaments.  For $10 you get a pack of 4.  I think they look both cute and classy!

‘Tis the season! Or, almost anyway. The first holiday parties I know of are happening this weekend, and it’s certainly cold enough outside to be the season! That’s why these Chocolate Log Christmas Cupcakes from DaisyCakes caught my eye. I’m not sure how they created the “logs” (any ideas?) but they look wonderful.

While picking up groceries at my local Wal-Mart I looked around at the the specialty holiday products.  I noticed Jell-O has made a Holiday Cupcake pudding snack.  Not being a huge pudding fan I passed on these but if I was a little kid taking a school lunch I bet I would have loved them!

I also spotted a new Betty Crocker Hot Chocolate mix.  The mix is only $2.24 and comes with marshmallows and a fluffy white frosting mix.  I’m thinking about buying this one and saving it for if/when we get snow in North Carolina so I can enjoy a hot chocolate cupcake with a cup of hot chocolate!  Have you seen any other holiday cupcake products that you will be buying or gifting this holiday season?

I decided to give Betty Crocker’s butter pecan cake mix a whirl, and my  taste testers (who of course, assume everything is from scratch — *wink*) were thrilled.

I also made a butter pecan frosting. I beat together: 2 sticks of softened butter, 3 tablespoons of vegetable shortening, about 6 cups of powdered sugar. Then, I topped the cupcakes with drizzled caramel and crushed pecans.

These cupcakes were sooo rich and buttery! Highly recommended for butter enthusiasts!

We’re still waiting for that first snowfall here in the Windy City.  Maybe whipping up a batch of these snowman cupcakes would usher in the big snows!

Well these are pretty clever. Dip a marshmallow in some chocolate, add a chocolate coated cookie, and voila–a pilgrim hat! Visit Tonya Staab’s blog for complete instructions. You can also visit Tonya on Facebook and Twitter! Catch ya later. I’m off to get a bag of marshmallows.

If you weren’t hungry before, you are now! Right? These little delights look too good to be true. These peanut butter brownie cupcakes were created by Amy’s Sweets & Treats of Allentown, Pennsylvania. You can also visit Amy on Facebook.

Once fall hits I get on a pumpkin baking kick!  I crave sweet pumpkin desserts and what better way to satisfy that craving than with cupcakes?  How Sweet It Is shared a recipe for pumpkin s’more cupcakes.  The pictures of these cupcakes look amazing!  The cupcakes are made up of a graham cracker crust, pumpkin cupcake, fudge ganache filling, and marshmallow icing!  I’m tempted to bake these cupcakes in place of pumpkin pie which no one in our house eats anyway.

My mouth is watering for these mulled wine cupcakes from Good to Know Recipes. Imagine a soft spiced sponge, with a warming mulled wine center, and a sweet buttercream topping! What a perfect combination! Click here for recipe and instructions.

I was hankering for some invigorating mint! So, I baked some dark chocolate cupcakes. Then, I used Wilton’s buttercream frosting recipe and added some mint extract. Then I topped with chocolate chips and a sprig of mint! Hankering satisfied! Friends told me it tasted like a peppermint patty.

Looking for something original and clever to do with your cupcake pan this Thanksgiving? How about stocking up on some salty Bugles and creating a cupcake cornucopia? That’s what Hoosier Homemade did and it looks great! Visit Liz’s blog for other great Thanksgiving cupcake ideas!

It’s that time of year when I start seeing cranberries in the produce section and I start dreaming up all kinds of recipes that will make my kitchen smell like the Holidays.  Here is a recipe to help you make use of those cranberries!

Many bakeries and stores are offering deals today to people who have voted.  Just Baked, a cupcake shop in Canton, Michigan, was offering these sweet cupcakes today.  Did anybody else have cupcakes to celebrate the election?

My family and I are busy planning our next trip to Disney World and when I saw this on Etsy today, I had to share.  It is cute, sweet and petite and I love it!  It brings together three of my loves too- Disney, cupcakes and jewelry.  For only $8 from A Girl and Her Clay, this handmade polymer clay Mickey Mouse cupcake is a great deal!

Image from 52 Kitchen Adventures

Have you ever wondered how to make a cupcake bouquet?  Well 52 Kitchen Adventures has shared step-by-step instructions on how to make a cupcake bouquet.  There’s even a video tutorial on how to make the beautiful cupcake rose from frosting.  These cupcake bouquets make lovely centerpieces for baby showers, wedding showers, or the upcoming holidays!

Harajuku was not a word in my vocabulary until several weeks ago when a friend of mine showed me these amazing cupcakes that she made for a client here in Chicago.

In case you are like me and you don’t know, Harajuku is the name of an area in Tokyo, which is known for the different types of fashion that can be seen here (like cyber-punk, ganguro, and cosplay). Gwen Stefani helped popularize the idea of “Harajuku Girls” by dedicating her two solo albums and her clothing line to Harajuku fashion.

Enough about that, though.  Check out these awesome cupcakes!  And, if you’re in the Chicago area, consider looking up Karlie’s Cakes and Cookies on Facebook.  She has a lot of talent!

Do you need to make cupcakes and you need to make them right now?  I have never seen this before, but here is the quickest way to make your own cupcakes: Betty Crocker’s Shake-n-Pour Cupcake mix.   All you have to do is add water, and according to this review, it’s not half-bad.  I say it’s definitely worth a try if you are in a bind!

Here on the east coast of the US we are hunkering down and riding through hurricane Sandy. With 50+ mile an hour winds and over a half a foot rain, it is a good day to stay indoors.  So while we are stuck inside, how about making some sweet cupcakes! These cupcakes were from Coastal Cupcakes in North Carolina during hurricane Irene but I am sure with some colored fondant, you could make them as well.  I love the pop of color in the red cylone and the two red hurricane warning flags. Hopefully my power will stay on long enough to make these today.  Stay safe cupcake fans!

Here is yet another take on the Oreo-cupcake combo. And I bet this is one rich combination!

Visit Things that Make You Say Mmm for recipe and instructions. Then let us know how they taste!

Here are my favorite Halloween cupcake printable toppers that I have found this year.  The toppers shown above are from Celebrations at Home who made the festive polkadot toppers. Ekaterina Trukhan created cute illustrated toppers.  Giggles & Grace Designs created the more grown up looking toppers. Love Party Printables designed these “Boo” costume cupcake toppers. The always creative Sweetopia came up with the Happy Howl-oween dog cupcake toppers.

Check out these eerily beautiful black velvet rose cupcakes from Diary of a Mad Hausfrau. Visit her blog to also see the severed tongue truffles. ewww…

The countdown is definitely here.  If you haven’t figured out what kind of cupcakes you are taking to the Halloween party, the clock is ticking.  If your preference is spooky rather than silly, then here are some creepy cupcakes for you.

I personally like the Witch’s Cauldron cupcakes (hover your mouse over the picture and a box will pop up giving you tips for making these).  Use chunks of orange gelatin for the inside of the cauldron, candy bones and skulls, and licorice pieces for the handle and the spoon.

Looking for a cool old school way to display your cupcakes? Check out this unique 3 tier record stand being sold on Ebay this week. Yes, it is a bit pricey at around $50 with shipping to the US.   But My_E_Room is also selling just the cake stand handle and rods as well for only about $12.  So if you have some old records laying around, you can make your own stand!