An Apple A Day

MAKES: 8 cupcakes

PREP: 30 Min

CHILL TIME: 10 Min

Direct from the authors of the Hello Cupcake cookbook series, these An Apple A Day cupcakes are so darn cute, theyre almost too good-looking to eat! But its pretty hard to resist these sweet treats that are so easy to make, yet look like they came from a fancy bakery.

What You'll Need

8 vanilla cupcakes baked in red paper liners
1 (16-ounce) can vanilla frosting
Red food coloring
8 mini plain or chocolate-covered doughnuts
4 chocolate chews (like Tootsie Rolls)
6 green fruit chews (like Jolly Rancher or Tootsie Fruit Rolls)
1 cup red decorating sugar
3 black candy-coated chocolate-covered sunflower seeds (like Sunny Seed Drops)

What to Do

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the vanilla frosting into a small resealable bag, press out the excess air, and seal. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting red with the food coloring.
Cut 1/2 inch from the bottom of each mini doughnut with a serrated knife and discard the bottom piece. Spread some red frosting on the cupcakes and place the mini doughnut piece, cut side down, on top. Place the cupcakes in the freezer 10 minutes, or until slightly frozen.
For the stems, cut the chocolate chews in half lengthwise on the diagonal and shape each half into a stem (you will need 7). For the leaves, roll out the green fruit chews to a 1/8-inch thickness, and then cut into twelve 3/4- by 1-1/2-inch leaf shapes. Make a crease down the center of each leaf with the back of a paring knife and pinch one end.
Place the red decorating sugar in a medium shallow bowl. Working on 1 cupcake at a time, spread some of the red frosting on the top and sides of the doughnut and cupcakes to fill in the gaps and lightly coat, making the doughnut top look like the top of an apple. Roll the frosted cupcake in the red sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
To create a bite mark, carefully remove a 1-1/2-inch divot in the side of 1 sugar-coated doughnut, using the tines of a fork or a paring knife. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe a thin layer of frosting to cover the exposed area inside the divot. Spread lightly with the back of a small spoon to smooth. Arrange the sunflower seeds in the vanilla frosting as the apple seeds, pointed ends toward the center. Insert the chocolate chew stems with the green fruit chew leaves at the top of the apple cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes in a basket.