Brownie Cupcakes

Ta-Da! Here are the finished cupcakes that I alluded to yesterday, and they are all in their entirety (unlike yesterday, when I started eating the gingerbread man before I took a picture).

Oh, wait. That guy in front looks a little crippled.  Well, to be fair, they are irresistibly yummy.

I started out with a box of turtle brownie mix that my grandma gave me, and a sleeve of 500 Christmas cupcake liners. And so, the idea of brownies that look like cupcakes was born! Plus, it was a snow day, and I was stuck inside because of the below freezing weather and icy road conditions.

Be warned, though, that the brownies stuck to the cupcake liners. Maybe it was the caramel? Or maybe I should've sprayed Pam on them first? I'm really not sure about that odd phenomenon, but if you have any ideas, let me know so I can improve next time.

Then, since I had this really cute idea in my head about snowflake sprinkles and tiny gingerbread men, I wanted to decorate them...

You can't really tell, but that's a 2-foot piping bag I've got in my hands. When I decided I needed a bigger bag to ice cupcakes with, I figured I'd just go with the biggest size available. Well... maybe an 18" bag would've done the job just as nicely, but without being quite so intimidating.

Then came the sprinkles...

And finally, the finished product! And many thanks to Sarah, who helped me out and decorated some of these cute little guys with me!

I must warn you, though, that these are really sweet and rich. I think a normal chocolate cupcake would fare better with all the decorations, and leave the brownie cupcakes to stand on their own merit, with maybe a small swirl of fudge icing for garnish.