April Fool's Day Cupcakes

Though I'm hardly a prankster, I definitely enjoy a well-played joke every once in a while. April Fool's Day can be a fun day to plan and carry out such a prank. One of my favorite memories of growing up is an April Fool's Day when I taped the sink sprayer "on" so that when someone turned the sink on, it would spray water all over them. My Dad thought it was pretty hilarious, too... And there was the classic prank I think someone in my family tried every year where you put a few drops of food coloring on a new stick of gum and let it dry. After carefully putting it back its foil wrapper, you casually offer your victim a stick of gum. When they start to chew it up (if they don't notice the drops of dye), their unsuspecting mouth would soon turn blue! Oh, those were good times.

I'm excited to start trying silly little pranks on my kids, but my little one is still too young to appreciate the humor. So instead, last year I pulled this one on my husband. I don't think he minded too much.

I also made these adorable TV Dinner cupcakes! We put a bunch in a big pot, put the lid on, and went to "deliver dinner" to a few of our friends. We told them there was a sign-up sheet passed around church that week to bring them dinner (which is often done for new mothers or other families in need of a meal, so it was plausible). It was so funny to watch their reactions of confusion or panic as they had already started to get dinner ready for the night. Ha! My husband is not a very good liar, so I got to do most of the talking...

They were really fun to make and only need a few special ingredients. A few notes:

• The "Peas and Carrots" cupcake looks best if you cover it completely (instead of leaving spaces in between the candies like I did). I used cut up orange Starburst for the carrots and green skittles for the peas. It's really hard to get enough green skittles to cover several cupcakes because there are only so many in a package. You could also use runts, M&Ms, or any other green hard candy.
• The "Mashed Potato" cupcake is probably my favorite. It's just white frosting piled high with a small well on the top. Drizzle caramel sauce on top for the gravy and plop a yellow Starburst in the middle as a pat of butter. Although it looks a little chewed, the secret to the butter is putting the Starburst in the microwave for a few seconds to soften up the corners a bit. Isn't it so cute?
• The "Chicken Leg" cupcakes take a little more work because you have to make the bones out of melted white chocolate, form it into a bone shape on wax paper, and stick them in the freezer for a few minutes. The cupcake is yummy covered in frosting and dipped in crushed up graham cracker crumbs.
• The "Dessert" cupcake is pretty self-explanatory. And very delicious. 

Did you pull any pranks this year? What are some of your favorite ones from past years? I'm always looking for fun new ideas to try!

Inspiration from Our Best Bites and Delectable Edibles: Check out their websites for more instructions and pictures. They also have some cute ideas for other foody cupcakes (I LOVE the spaghetti and meatballs!).