Monkey Cupcakes

You don't have to be a cake decorating pro to make these cute monkey cupcakes.  I recently made these for the cake walk at my grandson's school carnival. They would be perfect for a birthday party or anytime you want to put a smile on someone's face!

Ingredients

1 box cake mix of your choice
1 container chocolate frosting
24 - 30 vanilla wafer cookies
50 - 60 mini vanilla wafer cookies
50 - 60 candy eyes (sold in the cake decorating section)

Instructions

Prepare cake mix for cupcakes according to package instructions.
Allow to cool.
Frost each cupcake with chocolate frosting.
Place a large vanilla wafer on top for the nose and mouth.
Add two eyes and place two mini vanilla wafers on the sides as ears.
Place additional chocolate icing into piping bag (or sandwich bag with the tip snipped off).
Pipe mouth and nose on top of large vanilla wafer.

'Nail Polish" Treats

When my granddaughter celebrated her 7th birthday with a spa themed party, I made these "nail polish" treats. We put them on top of cupcakes.  They are easy to make and so cute!

Ingredients

Marshmallows (make sure the bag has not been smashed so the marshmallows are nice and plump.
Tootsie rolls
Toothpicks
Various colors of colored sugar (the type found in the cake decorating section)
Spray bottle filled with water

Instructions

Pour a single color of sugar into a shallow bowl.
Stick a toothpick in a marshmallow and spray lightly with water. Be sure to cover the entire marshmallow with water. Allow any excess water to drip off.
Roll marshmallow in colored sugar to coat completely.
Place on waxed paper to dry.

Unwrap tootsie roll and place a toothpick into it.
Remove toothpick used to roll marshmallow in sugar and replace it with the tootsie roll.

Store covered so that the marshmallows do not dry out.
If desired, place on "nail polish" treat on top of each cupcake for a birthday treat.

Teddy Bear Toast

What could be more fun than teddy bear toast? This was a hit with my grandchildren when I served it as an after school snack.

Ingredients for one

1 slice of bread
Peanut Butter
3 slices of banana
3 blueberries
2 mandarin orange slices (optional)


Instructions

Toast the bread. Spread with peanut butter.  Place banana slices for ears and nose. Place blueberries for eyes and nose.  Optional, because I happened to have a few slices of orange, add orange slices as ears.