4th of July Cupcakes

Oh say can you see. 

These are adorable. I got the idea from Kim, actually. She made full blown rainbow cupcakes for us on St. Patty's Day. Very, very cute idea!

But these are adorable too! I called my husband and said, "I just made the cutest cupcakes." 

He said, "And how do they taste?"

I replied, "Honey, if they are the cutest cupcakes, it doesn't matter how they taste. It's the cute cupcake experience."

Plus, how could a cupcake actually taste bad? They're always delicious.

I'll be honest though, I totally cheated and used a cake mix and canned frosting. But I added my own touch to them, don't worry. I can't always be perfect, right? Ya, that's an inside joke, don't really think I view myself as a perfect person. FFFAARRR from, my friends.

I wish I would have taken action shots while putting these together, but hopefully my instructions will be just at wonderful.

Enjoy! And have a very happy 4th of July.

{4TH OF JULY CUPCAKES}

click here for a printable version of this recipe

1 white cake mix {or your favorite white cake recipe}

Red & blue PASTE food coloring {not the liquid stuff, or you'll have pastel colors, trust me. Remember this?}

1 can of white frosting {or your favorite recipe}

Sprinkles

The red jolly rancher stars were an idea from this cute blog.

Prepare and mix cake mix according to the package directions. 

Separate the cake mix into 3 equal parts, in 3 separate bowls. Color one bowl with blue. Color another with red {the trick to a deep red is to add a little bit of blue to it. Not too much, or it will be purple fast!}. Leave the last bowl white.

Place a medium-size ziplock bag inside a tall drinking glass, folding back the top of the baggie over the rim of the glass. Spoon the red cake mix into the bag and seal it. Clip the bottom corner of the bag, JUST A LITTLE SNIP will do. Gently squeeze a little red batter into each cupcake liner. Basically, just enough to cover the bottom. Remember, you still have 2 more layers. 

Repeat with the white batter and then top with the blue. 

Bake according to package directions. Allow to cool completely.

For the frosting, spoon the canned stuff into a medium bowl and add powdered sugar to make it a little more stiff for decorating. I probably added 1/2 - 3/4 a cup. It's not like the frosting needs to be sweeter, people. It just needs to be stiffer, or your frosting decor will turn into a blob about 2 mintues after you decorate {this is also something I've learned from experience}.

Decorate the cupcakes with frosting, colored sprinkles and jolly rancher stars.

Then place your hand over your heart and enjoy.