Eyeball Upside-down Cupcakes
Eyeball Upside-Down Cupcakes might sound gross, but to kids, it's a
cool Halloween treat that they get to make and decorate. These
goulish cupcakes are easy enough for children 8 and older, but kids
younger than 8 will need a little help.
4 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 15-ounce can sliced pears in heavy syrup, drained and blotted dry
(16 slices)
8 canned dark, sweet cherries, blotted dry
1 box corn muffin mix (8 1/2 ounce box)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
Nonstick baking spray
5 or 6 strings of black licorice or other color licorice
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Coat the inside of 8 cups of a standard muffin tin with butter (for
even baking fill the empty cups with water). Sprinkle with coating
of sugar on the bottom of the cups.
Arrange 2 pear slices and a cherry in the bottom of each prepared
cup, arching the pear slices against the sides of the cups and
placing the cherry in the middle, so that the fruit looks like an
eye.
Mix the corn muffin mix, egg and milk in a bowl according to the
package direction, and spoon into the cups over the fruit. Bake for
8 minutes. The cakes will have formed a crust and peaked in the
center.
Spray sheet pan with nonstick baking spray and place it sprayed side
down over the muffin tin to flatten the peaks of the cakes.
Bake for 10 more minutes. Place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Run a knife around the edge of each cupcake and invert onto a
cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.
To decorate: Cut the licorice into 3/4-inch strings and insert 5 or
6 in each cupcake, protruding from under one of the pear slices, to
represent eye lashes.
Makes 8 cupcakes.
Nutrition information per serving: Calories 200; Total fat 8.5g;
Saturated fat 2.3g; Cholesterol 32mg; sodium 195mg; Carbohydrate
21g; Fiber 1.4g; Protein 2.8g.
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