Adorable Applesauce Cupcakes

Applesauce is a low-fat alternative to oil in baked goods. Plus, it keeps cupcakes moist and adds a subtle fresh flavor.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1       box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix

1/2    teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4    cup apple juice

1/3    cup unsweetened applesauce

3       eggs

Frosting:

1/2    teaspoon red paste food color

1       container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting

Decorations:

12     thin pretzel sticks, broken into pieces

16     spearmint leaf gumdrops

12     gummy worm candies, cut in half, if desired

Directions:

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• 2 In large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• 3 Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pans 10 minutes; carefully remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• 4 Stir paste food color into frosting in container. Spread frosting over cupcakes.
• 5 To decorate cupcakes, poke 1 pretzel piece into each cupcake for stem. Cut each gumdrop leaf into 3 slices. Poke 2 gumdrop leaves into top of each cupcake on either side of pretzel stem. Poke half of gummy worm into each cupcake. Store loosely covered.

Expert Tips

If you don't have unsweetened applesauce on hand, the regular kind will taste great in these cupcakes, too.

If you have only one pan and a recipe calls for more cupcakes than your pan will make, cover and refrigerate the rest of the batter while baking the first batch. Cool the pan about 15 minutes, then bake the rest of the batter, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.

Source: BettyCrocker