Are you ready for Halloween? You may have noticed that we here on Growing Up Madison are already in the Halloween spirit. We got an update of our header and we are happy about it. Now today I want to share with you our Halloween Cupcake Spider. This is more of an idea than an exact recipe, but they’re so easy to make and kids will love them! I just made one, but you could easily make as many as you need for a Halloween party or a fun Halloween treat for your kids.
Here is what you will need:
Chocolate cupcakes
Chocolate or black licorice
Solid milk chocolate bar
White chocolate bar or chips
Instructions
To make the legs of the spider, cut your licorice strips and half lengthwise, and then cut each piece and half again, so you wind up with eight thin strips that are the same length. I used Twizzlers chocolate licorice strips.
To make the eyes, melt a very small amount of white chocolate and drizzle into a circular shape onto a piece of wax paper. Put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden.
Next you’ll want to melt about 1/4 cup of milk chocolate (you’re going to use this twice). To melt it, just add it to a small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave it for 15 second intervals, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
Remove the white chocolate from the freezer, and add a drop of the milk chocolate to the center to make the pupils. Return to the freezer to harden.
While the spider eyes are firming up, you can make the “fur” of the spider.
Using a fine grater, grate about 1/4 cup of milk chocolate bar.
Spread the remaining melted milk chocolate all over the top of the cupcake. This is your glue. You don’t want to use too much or it will drip. You just want a thin coating over the entire surface. While the chocolate is still wet sprinkle the grated chocolate over all exposed areas. Once you get most of it covered with the grated chocolate, you can lightly press it down so it will stick.
To add the legs, just insert each piece of licorice into each side of the spider about a 1/2″ apart. Of course this will vary depending on what size cupcake you’re using. It’s easier to do this once you have the cupcake on the dish you’re serving it on, because you can use the plate to hold the legs in place once you bend them under.
Lastly, you want to add the eyes. To do this, place a drop of melted chocolate on the back of the eyeballs you made, and press it onto the cupcake wherever you want the eyes. Hold it for 3 to 5 seconds to make sure it stays put.
Have fun!
