Recipe: Ladybug Cupcakes

Ladybug Cupcakes

Cupcakes are topped with convenient canned frosting that's tinted with food coloring and decorated with chocolate chips--they couldn't be cuter or easier to make!

18 baked cupcakes baked in paper liners
3 cans (16 oz. each) vanilla frosting, divided
Red paste food coloring
32 chocolate flavored candy melts or wafers about 3.4 oz.or 2/3 cup
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tube (4.25 oz.) chocolate-flavored decorating icing Using serrated knife trim top of each cupcake level with paper liner; cut tops in half crosswise, making two semicircles, to use for the wings.

Transfer 1/4 cup vanilla frosting to plastic food storage bag with corner snipped; reserve. Spread cut surface of each cupcake with 2 Tbs. remaining frosting. Tint remaining frosting red.

For wings, place one cupcake top half slightly askew on frosted cupcake, as if the wings are slightly open; spread wings with red frosting. Repeat with remaining cupcake top half and remaining cupcakes.

Transfer remaining red frosting to bag with corner snipped. For each head, attach flat sides of 2 candy melts together with frosting; press onto cupcake where wings meet. For spots, press chips onto wings. Decorate faces using red and white frosting and brown icing. For faces, use vanilla frosting to pipe eyes, red frosting for smiling mouth, cheeks and eyebrowns and chocolate icing for pupils and nose.

Makes 18 Ladybug Cupcakes.