Owl Cupcakes

I made these guys to display at our Outdoor Education booth during a teacher conference last November. They helped in getting people to stop by our booth that normally would not have, and it gave me an opportunity fuse two of my passions together. Here's how I did them:

You can use any kind of cupcake, although I recommend chocolate. You will also need a nice, thick chocolate frosting to help hold things together. I put a base layer of chocolate frosting down first.

The eyes are Oreos. Simply put a couple of Oreos in the microwave for 10-30 seconds (depending on how many you put in at a time). Your goal is to soften the cream, not melt it! Once it's soft, separate the cookies so one side has cream and the other does not. This can be challenging if you get a stubborn Oreo. I used a paring knife to help guide the cream, and if it breaks up a bit, I just patched it back together while it was still warm.

Put a little frosting on the back of the cream-side Oreos, and place on the cupcake.

The irises are chocolate melting wafers, although Junior Mints will work, too. Again, a little frosting on the back and stick them on the Oreo to make whatever kind of expression you want. You can add a white frosting dot for the pupil. if desired.

For the ears, use the "naked" Oreo halves. Simply cut them in half and use frosting to adhere them to the top part of the cupcake (make sure you overlap enough onto the cupcake so they don't fall off!)

The nose is a banana Runt. (My husband particularly enjoyed this part - since I bought a whole batch of Runts and only used the bananas, it left plenty for him to eat!)

To make the "fur", use a small circular tip and pipe tiny sections. You want to pay particular attention to the ears, and I recommend doing at least around the edges. You can cover the entire face in fur if you're that patient (I did this for a few of them and then ran out of time and patience, so just did the edges.)

You can also do this with mini cupcakes, using mini Oreos and Junior Mints, to create a whole owl family.

Enjoy!