Flower Cup Cakes recipe

• 12 unfrosted vanilla or favorite flavor cupcakes
• 2 tablespoons dark chocolate frosting
• 1 (16-ounce) can vanilla frosting
• Green and yellow food color
• 12 marshmallows
• 1/2 cup each yellow, pink and orange nonpareil sprinkles

2 each yellow, red, orange, green and black spice drop

• Spoon chocolate frosting into a resealable plastic bag. Tint vanilla frosting bright green with the green and yellow food colors. Spoon 1/2 cup green frosting into a resealable plastic bag. Press out excess air; seal bags.
  
  
• Place each color of sprinkles in a separate bowl. Working with one sprinkle color at a time, cut a marshmallow crosswise into 5 thin slices, letting slices drop into sprinkles. Toss to coat sticky areas of marshmallow with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining marshmallows and colored sprinkles to make 20 petals of each color.
  
  
• Cut each spice drop in half crosswise. For ladybugs, cut 2 of the halved black spice drops in half again to make quarters. Press one quarter against one half of a red spice drop to make the head and body. Snip a very small (1/16-inch) corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting. Pipe the line down the back of the red spice drop; add spots and antennae with chocolate frosting.
  
  
• Working on one cupcake at a time, spread top with some green frosting and make smooth. Arrange 5 same-color marshmallow slices in a circle, like the petals of a flower, on top of each frosted cupcake. Press a cut spice drop, cut-side down, in the center of each petal arrangement. Repeat with remaining cupcakes and marshmallow slices.
  
  
• Snip a small (1/4 -inch) corner from bag of green frosting. Pipe lines of green frosting as the stems on a serving platter (see photo). Add several leaf shapes next to the stems with frosting. Arrange cupcakes on platter to look like a bouquet of flowers. Add spice drop ladybugs.