Back to School Cupcakes - Recipe

for the cupcakes:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 1 hour.

for the frosting:
18 tbsp. green frosting
18 tbsp. blue frosting
18 sugar wafers
36 chocolate chips
1 tube black decorator icing
1 tube white decorator icing
18 red mini M&Ms

2. Frost each cupcake half blue and half green to make the grass and the sky. Cut a small rectangle from the upper left corner of each sugar wafer to create the school bus shape. Place it on the cupcake on the centre line. Place 2 chocolate chips (point down) on either end of the bus for wheels. Using a small piping tip, such as #2 or 3 pipe in the windows and bus stripes in black. Using a similar tip, pipe the bus lights and wheel rims in white. Pipe a small dot of white where you want the stop sign to go. Place a red M&M (label side down) on top of the white dot to secure it.

Send your child off to school with a smile, or share a special treat when they first arrive home. Sit and talk about how their first day went over some yummy cupcakes!

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes