Jell-O Poke Cupcakes

Place 24 cupcake liners into muffin tins.

Prepare the cake batter as directed, using the eggs, water and oil called for on the cake mix box. Fill the muffin liners 2/3 full with the batter and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Cool cupcakes completely.

Take a fork or bamboo skewer (that’s what I used) and poke about 6 six holes into the top of the cooled cupcakes.

Add one cup of boiling water to the Jell-O mix and stir until all of the powder has dissolved. Then add 1/2 cup cold water.

Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tins and place the cupcakes on a pan with an edge because some of the Jell-O will overflow during the next step.

Now here’s the tricky part. Instead of spooning the Jell-O mixture over each cupcake, I put it into a squeeze bottle and squeeze some Jell-O into each hole. You will still have some overflow, but I don’t think it was quite as bad as just pouring it from a cup would have been. Now place the cupcakes in the fridge for a few hours to chill.

For the frosting:
Whisk instant vanilla pudding mix, milk and vanilla extract together until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip. I placed the prepared frosting in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let it thicken up before I put it into a piping bag to frost the cupcakes. Frost as desired. I used a Wilton 1M tip when frosting these cupcakes.