Oo Oo Ah Ah!

I got this recipe from Parents magazine, and made the cupcakes for my little monster's birthday. They turned out really well and I admit, I was quite proud of my work...along with my sister's help.

If you feel like adding some monkey fun to someone's day, try these out! I used a box mix of devil's food cake, but the recipe called for banana cake made from scratch. I wasn't that daring.

Let the cupcakes cool completely, then go ahead and decorate:

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 T. light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
18 gingersnap cookies
18 mini Oreos
1 tube white decorating frosting
36 M&Ms or Reese's pieces

1. Heat cream and corn syrup in a saucepan until mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat; add choc chips. Cover; let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Glaze cupcakes with choc. Spoon the extra into a plastic bag, then refrigerate. (Don't do this ahead of time. If you leave too long in the fridge, it gets too hard and fudge-like to squeeze from the bag!)

2. Cut or break gingersnaps to make a mouth. For ears, separate Oreo tops and bottoms. Remove filling...and eat the filling : ) Pipe on white frosting for eyes and top with M&Ms or Reese's pieces. Snip corner from bag of choc; pipe on hair and nostrils. (Makes 18 cupcakes)