Lollipop Garden Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup mini muffin pans with paper liners.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 4 minutes.
• Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium low; beat in half the flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Transfer the pans to a cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let them cool completely on the rack.
• For the buttercream: Combine the butter, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high. Mix until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes more. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix to combine. Add more milk a 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the buttercream is firm but spreadable.
• Divide the buttercream evenly among 5 bowls, about a heaping 1/3 cup in each. Add the yellow gel food coloring to one bowl and mix until no streaks remain. Repeat with the remaining bowls of buttercream and the green, blue, violet and pink food colors. Scoop each color into a separate disposable piping bag with no tip; then snip off the tip of each bag so there is a hole about the size of a penny.
• Prepare a sixth piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round piping tip; this will be your decorating bag.
• Holding the decorating bag in one hand and the yellow buttercream bag in the other, pipe the yellow buttercream into the decorating bag making in a vertical stripe about 1 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining colors, working around the edge of the decorating bag to create stripes of each color and leaving at least 5 inches at the top so you can seal the bag. Be sure not to overfill the bag; you can repeat piping in the colored stripes if necessary.
• Once the cupcakes are completely cool, attach them to the lollipop sticks by poking small holes just big enough to fit a lollipop sticks in the bottom of each cupcake with the tip of a paring knife, poking through the paper liners.
• Slice 1/8 inch off the bottom (flat side) of each spice drop with a paring knife. Insert a lollipop stick through the domed top of a spice drops and slide it down so there is about 3/4 inch of the stick above the spice drop. This is where the cupcake will sit.
• Next, poke the lollipop stick into the hole in the bottom of a cupcake and slide the bottom of the cupcake down so it rests on the flat, sticky side of the spice drop. The lollipop stick should not poke through the top of the cupcake; if the cupcake seems wobbly, slide the gumdrop down a bit further and press the cupcake onto the stick a bit more. Anchor the assembled lollipop cupcakes in a Styrofoam board or stick them in tall containers filled with sugar or sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining lollipop sticks, spice drops and cupcakes.
• Holding a cupcake in one hand and the decorating bag in the other, starting in the center of the cupcake, pipe the frosting in a swirl over the top of the cupcake. Stick the frosted cupcake back into the Styrofoam to hold it upright. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days; remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.
• Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.
• Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.
• Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half; stir chocolate into one half. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets. , Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. , For frosting, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract, salt and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost bottoms of chocolate cookies. Place a wooden stick on each cookie, leaving 3 in. for handle. Top each with a plain cookie. Frost tops; add candies and sprinkles.

Steps:

• Using an offset spatula, spread buttercream on cupcakes, smoothing into dome shapes. Place sprinkles in a small bowl. Gently press each frosted cupcake into sprinkles, rolling it around so entire surface is coated. Insert a lollipop into the center of each cupcake. Using a paring knife or kitchen shears, cut leaf shapes out of green taffy strips. Press one leaf into each cupcake, next to the lollipop. Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set.

Steps:

• Press a cupcake into a flowerpot. Insert the flower cookie stick in the center and decorate the cupcake with 2 green M&M'S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies.
• What to Do For Cookie Flowers:
• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
• 2. Knead the flour into the dough, and roll it out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using the printable template, cut out 12 cookies, re-rolling the scraps. Transfer cookies to cookie sheet and slip lollipop stick underneath each one.
• 3. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven, transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.
• 4. Beat the confectioner's sugar, egg white powder and water until fluffy. Spoon 1/2 cup of the frosting in a resealable plastic bag with a small corner snipped. Set aside. Divide the remaining frosting into 3 cups and tint one yellow, one orange and one red. Spread cookies with frosting.
• 5. Pipe a small circle of white frosting in the center of each cookie and decorate with M&M'S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies using the photograph as guide. Set aside.
• What to Do For Cupcakes:
• 6. Meanwhile, line the cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners. Set pans aside. Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake pans. Bake for approximately 19-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Spread the top of the cupcake with the chocolate frosting.
• 7. Press a nugget of floral clay into the bottom of each flower pot. Press a cupcake into a flowerpot. Insert the flower cookie stick in the center. anchoring it in the clay for support. Decorate the cupcake with 2 green M&M'S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies.
• TIP: You can also make jumbo cupcakes as well as miniature cupcakes for a varitey of "plant" sizes.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Trim about 1/2 inch from the perimeter of the cake. Working in batches, crumble cake into the bowl of a food processor; process until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a large bowl and add frosting; blend together using the back of a spoon, until well combined, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Roll mixture into 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch balls; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with parchment-paper-lined aluminum foil. Transfer to refrigerator until chilled, about 2 hours or to a freezer for about 10 minutes.
• Begin to shape balls into cupcakes by rolling balls first into logs. Fit logs into a 1 1/4-by-3/4-inch flower-shaped cookie cutter. Push cake mixture into the cutter halfway so that some of the cake mixture extends beyond the top of the cutter. Shape extended cake mixture into a cupcake-shaped top. Push cake from cutter to remove. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Transfer to freezer until chilled, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt chocolate in heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Remove cupcakes from freezer and dip the bottom of each cupcake into the chocolate; transfer, bottom-side up, to prepared baking sheet. To make lollipops, insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each cupcake. Let chocolate set, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Melt white chocolate or pink candy melts in heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate and place right-side up on prepared baking sheet or stick lollipop sticks into a Styrofoam square. Place a candy-coated chocolate in the center of each and top with sprinkles. Let dry completely.