Crafty Baking {Chinese Takeout Cupcakes}

I adore baking...but I especially enjoy Crafty baking! One of my favorite cupcake books is "What's New Cupcake". The first book "Hello Cupcake" is also a winner! Their cupcakes are so clever yet so simple to make {although some are VERY time consuming!!}

I tried out the Chinese Takeout Cupcakes to send with my husband to work. His co-workers always get a kick out of my quirky creations.

I was at a local Chinese Takeout picking up food and asked them if I could buy some of their takeout boxes. I got a huge stack for like $2!! WAY cheaper then buying them at a craft store!!

The broccoli on the chow mein was by far the coolest looking. One of my husbands co-workers brought his cupcakes home to show his kids and one of his daughters was grossed out that I would but BROCCOLI on cupcakes!! Until of course she found out it was CANDY!

Breakdown on the chow mein cupcakes:
Broccoli: green tootsie rolls rolled a bit. Snip the top part into two pieces..dollop green frosting and dip in green sprinkles
Green onions: green licorice sniped at a diagonal
Pork Slivers: Warm pink starbursts a bit and roll out, then slice and shape
I tinted homemade frosting with a little green and yellow food coloring until I got the right color then put it in a quart freezer* ziplock, snipped the end and made the chow mein on the cupcake and added my toppings!

Breakdown on the Fried Rice cupcakes:
Green Peas: Green Jelly Bellys cut in half
Carrots: Orange starbursts cut into 1/4" cubes
Scrambled Eggs: Yellow starbursts cut into strips and stretched out
Rice: Rice crispies mixed with frosting

The fortune cookie mini cupcakes were my favorite! To make the fortune cookies melt a square caramel in the microwave for a few seconds. Roll it out with a rolling pin and use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle. Then fold it over, shape and pinch the middle, leaving the ends open. Then you can print little messages and put them in the "cookies".

For more details check out the book! What's your favorite crafty dessert!?

*When you are piping icing make sure you use freezer bags instead of regular ziplocks. They are much more durable and won't pop on you!