Mini Cupcake Mortarboards

Make this fun, delicious dessert to honor your graduate! ...MORE+ LESS-

box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ cake mix (any flavor)

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

box (4.5 oz) Betty Crocker™ Fruit by the Foot™ chewy fruit snack rolls (any flavor) or shoestring licorice

container Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting

Food color

Lorna Doone™ shortbread cookies (from two 10-oz packages)

M&M's™ chocolate candies or fruit-flavored candies

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1

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place miniature paper baking cups in 24 mini muffin cups, 1 3/4x1 inch. Make cake batter as directed on box. Fill cups 2/3 full of batter (about 1 rounded tablespoon each). Refrigerate remaining batter.
2

Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; cool. Repeat with remaining batter. (Leave paper baking cups on cupcakes so mortarboards are quicker and easier to make and more portable to serve.)
3

To make tassels: Cut sixty 2 1/2-inch lengths from fruit snack rolls. Cut each into several strips up to 1/2 inch from 1 end. Roll uncut end between fingertips to make tassels. Or cut several pieces of shoestring licorice into 2 1/2-inch lengths.
4

Tint frosting with food color to match paper baking cups. Frost bottoms of cookies. Place 1 candy on center of each. For each mortarboard, place small dollop of frosting on bottom of cupcake; top with cookie. Press uncut end of fruit snack or 3 or 4 pieces of licorice into frosted cookie next to candy. Store loosely covered.

Share this dessert with family and friends of your graduate using paper baking cups that match school or class colors.
Make it a family affair! Speed your way through decorating by getting the whole family to help.
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.