Alien Cupcakes for Halloween

These Alien Cupcakes are really cute!

Ingredients

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil’s food or yellow cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
• 6 cups Kix® cereal
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/4 teaspoon orange neon gel or paste food color (from 2.7-oz tube)
• 48 gummy peach ring candies (from three 4.25-oz bags)
• 48 candy-coated chocolate candies
• 1 tube (0.68 oz) Betty Crocker® black decorating gel
• 48 thin pretzel sticks
• 20 drops green food color
• 1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting

Directions

1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
2 Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, line 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. In large bowl, place cereal.
4 In 4-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows; stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in orange food color. Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal in bowl, stirring until well coated.
5 For feet, place 2 gummy candies on cookie sheet. Spray inside of 1/4-cup measuring cup with cooking spray. For body, fill measuring cup with warm cereal mixture; place over feet, releasing cereal mixture and covering back half of feet. Repeat with remaining gummy candies and cereal mixture to make 24 aliens. Use 2 candy-coated chocolate candies for eyes and black decorating gel to make centers of eyes. Insert 2 pretzels for antennae.
6 Stir green food color into frosting container; frost cupcakes with frosting. Place 1 alien on top of each cupcake; press gently to secure. Store uncovered.

Expert Tips

Too many aliens? Bake and cool cupcakes as directed on box. Wrap 12 cupcakes tightly in food-safe plastic wrap and freeze for future use. Divide remaining ingredient amounts in half, and make 12 alien cupcakes.

If you have only one pan and a recipe calls for more cupcakes than your pan will make, cover and refrigerate the rest of the batter while baking the first batch. Cool the pan about 15 minutes, then bake the rest of the batter, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.

via: bettycrocker