Monkeying around

As you can tell, I have been neglecting my humble little cupcake blog of late.  While it does take a back seat to the puppy one, I am a little embarrassed that I haven't posted in so long.

My baking time has been limited of late; however, with the holidays around the corner, that's about to change.  For example, I'm hosting a pumpkin carving party in October, so I'll have Halloween cupcakes, other holiday treats, and party ideas to share.  I'll also link to some cool ideas I've found on the Interwebs to share the cute.  Stay tuned - I plan to give this blog some TLC in the near future (and I don't mean that I'm going to sing "Don't go chasing waterfalls").  

Anyway, today I want to share with you a cupcake from my past.  I hosted a baby shower for a friend some time ago (in my pre-blog days).  The party had a sock monkey theme, so I made some monkey cupcakes.  Check them out - cute AND tasty.

(Note: the shower was also during my pre-awesome DSLR days.  Apologies for the photo quality.)

For instructions on how to decorate your own monkey cupcakes (and for some better photos), visit Amber's Delectable Delights.

The snouts are made of vanilla wafers (which I always have on hand in case I have the spontaneous desire to whip up some banana pudding... no wonder I felt an affinity for these monkey cupcakes).  For the ears, I chose mini-Nutter Butter cookies, but as Amber notes, you can use regular Nutter Butters as well.  I used M&Ms for the eyes.  Dab on some icing, and you're good to go!

You can use any cake/frosting combo - I went with a classic yellow cake and chocolate frosting.  Happy baking!