it’s all just some hocus pocus

No tricks, just treats for Halloween Monday!  From Jack-O-Lantern quesadillas to “bat” hot wings, Halloween was deliciously frightful all afternoon long. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because there is no right or wrong way to celebrate. It’s that time of the year where I can walk around the grocery store with cat ears & whiskers painted on my cheeks and people just smile and say, “Happy Halloween!” It’s all just some hocus pocus! So to continue the spooky spirit, I brewed up a batch of sinful chocolate cupcakes, homemade chocolate buttercream frosting and with a wave of my wand…

Double, double toil & trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Give them fur black as black
All the way down their back.
Beady eyes, glowing red
Legs of 8 stick out their head.
Crawling from your oven door
All your guests will scream,
“WE WANT MORE!”

Hairy Spider Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes
Chocolate frosting
Chocolate sprinkles
Eye-type candy
Black string lace licorice

 

Use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe to bake at least a dozen cupcakes. Set aside on cooling racks. Frost cupcakes with heavy amount of chocolate buttercream frosting. Pour sprinkles in a bowl and roll frosted cupcake until completely covered.  Spook beyond your normal brown sprinkles and purchase festive holiday decorating goodies. I purchased metallic sprinkles to match the spider web cupcake liners I found at a local craft store.

Use eye-type candy to create the beady eyes. I purchased a box of Sixlets and made each spider unique with a different colored pair for each cupcake. Press into center. Cut the lace licorice into eight 4-inch pieces for each cupcake. If you can’t find black string lace licorice, just purchase black licorice and create your own legs. Use a knife to slice down the middle, then cut in half to create four legs. Press four thin pieces of licorice into each side of the cupcake to create eight legs.

Display spiders on a cupcake stand to look like a frightful family! For a really spooky way to display the spiders, carve out a pumpkin. Place a few spiders in the opening at the top to look like they are crawling out of a hollow pumpkin.