Sweet Lil’ Baby Rattle Mini-Cupcakes

Mix cake mix batter ingredients together (mine called for the amounts of eggs, water and oil, as listed on the ingredients list above – but use the amount of each that your cake mix specifies) as directed on the box. One box of cake mix should yield about 50 mini-cupcakes!

Put cupcake papers into your mini cupcake tins (you’ll need about 50 liners). Then use a tablespoon to scoop batter into the mini-cupcake pans.

Cook at 350 degrees F for 13-15 minutes. (The cooking time for mini-cupcakes might not be stated on the cake box – but if it is, use the bake time that your package recommends).

When done, remove from the oven and cool cupcakes in pan for 10 minutes. Then move all of the mini-cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow them to sit for about 15 minutes.

While the cupcakes are cooling, cut ribbons for the bows. I used 10″ ribbon strands in order to tie them easily, then cut off any added length.

Next, add a gumdrop to one side of each lollipop stick.

I used the ribbons to signify the cupcake flavors: orange ribbons for the yellow cake mix and brown ribbon for the chocolate cake mix. The gumdrops are random colors for fun.

Now we’re gonna jump ahead a few steps. After cooling, frosting and decorating the cupcakes, take a toothpick or BBQ skewer to poke the side of each cupcake. This is the hole that the lollipop stick will go into. (Poking it with the lollipop stick doesn’t work too well…)

Then put in the lollipop sticks, complete with bows and gumdrops (see photo), and there you are – all finished with a selection of Sweet Lil’ Baby Rattle Cupcakes!

Tip: The rattle handles on these cupcakes are heavy, so they need to sit on a surface and not hang off an edge.