Pull Apart Touchdown Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Arrange 14 cupcakes in a tight circle on a platter or cake board for the body and 7 cupcakes in a smaller tight circle for the head. Add 2 cupcakes for the scarf.
• Using a small serrated knife, cut 7 chocolate wafer cookies in half; spread frosting on the back and arrange around the edge of the cupcake circles as shown to round out the shape.
• Cut 6 more cookies into quarters. Spread frosting on the back, then use to fill in the gaps between the cupcakes.
• Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe dots of varying size all over the cupcakes and cookies to cover completely. Add chocolate candies for eyes and buttons and trim a circus peanut for the nose. Roll out the fondant until 1/4 inch thick; trim into 2 strips for the scarf and fringe the ends. Place on the snowman.

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla, eggs and 1 cup water until well blended. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.
• Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the frosting: Dissolve the coffee in 1 tablespoon hot water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and beat to incorporate. Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is a creamy piping consistency. Remove a rounded cup of the frosting and put it in a piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip.
• Add the cocoa powder and dissolved coffee to the mixing bowl and beat until well mixed. Add a little more milk as necessary to return the frosting to a creamy texture.
• On a very large platter or a cutting board, arrange the cupcakes into the shape of a football. When you have a shape you like, spoon a very small amount of frosting onto the bottom of each cupcake and put them back onto the platter to help them stick to it slightly. Spoon the mocha frosting over the cupcakes, then use an offset spatula to smooth it over the top, allowing the frosting to cover the small gaps between the cupcakes. Use the white frosting to pipe the football's laces and the white markings on either end of the ball. Scatter the green candies around the platter, if using.

Steps:

• Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream using a mini offset spatula.
• Scatter half the ground wafer cookies on a platter or serving tray large enough to hold the 24 cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes in four rows of six. Scatter more "dirt" over the cupcakes and around the edges of the tray.
• Arrange the strawberries randomly on the cupcakes. Arrange the candy flowers randomly.
• Poke holes in a cardboard egg carton. Pinch off pea-size or smaller bits of green fondant and roll them on your work surface to look like blades of grass, leaving one end thick and the other thin and pointy. Press 2 to 5 blades together and stick them on the end of a toothpick. Let dry, upright, in the egg carton. Roll the remaining green fondant between your hands to create 10 thin 2- to 3-inchlong squiggly vines. Wrap them around pencils and set them aside to dry. Place them under the strawberries and randomly in the patch.
• Top one cupcake with one of your favorite fondant creatures, such as a butterfly, caterpillar or ladybug.

Steps:

• For the marble cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with white liners.
• Evenly separate the vanilla cake batter into 3 bowls. Dye one bowl Christmas red, one bowl green and one bowl white. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or tablespoon, put one scoop of each color into the lined cupcake pans, filling two-thirds of the way. Swirl the colors together with a wooden skewer or the back of a spoon. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before assembling the wreath.
• For the decorations: While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, dye your buttercream frosting a Christmas green and put it into a pastry bag with a large star tip at the end.
• For the snowflakes: Dust a clean surface with cornstarch. Roll the white fondant out so it is 1/8-to-1/4-inch thick. Use your snowflake cookie cutter to cut out snowflake shapes.
• For the fondant bow and streamers: Dust a clean surface with cornstarch. Roll the red fondant out so it is 1/4-inch thick. Cut one strip that is approximately 2 inches wide and 10 inches long and one that is 1-inch wide and 5 inches long. Fold the 10-inch-long strip in half to find the center. Add a little bit of water as glue to the center of the strip and fold each end into the middle. Pinch the center together. Take the shorter strip and wrap it over the center (securing with a little bit of water) and close on the backside of the bow.
• Roll the leftover red fondant out so it is 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 strips - each should be 2-by-5 inches. Cut the top of each strip into a triangle and cut the bottom of each strip so that it resembles ribbon tails.
• To assemble: Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, assemble them into a wreath shape on whatever board or platter you plan to use for service. Make sure to leave a blank circle in the center. Once you like the placement, attach each cupcake to the board with a dot of buttercream.
• Pipe a large buttercream rosette on top of each cupcake with the green buttercream, making sure to fill in all the gaps. Add your fondant bow, snowflakes and assorted holiday sprinkles to complete your wreath.