Reeds

Ingredients

12 mini vanilla cupcakes baked in blue paper liners
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 candy spearmint leaves
1/2 cup canned vanilla frosting
Neon blue food coloring
1/4 cup blue decorating sugar

Directions

1. Spring the granulated sugar on a clean work surface. Roll out the spearmint leave to a scant 1/4-inch thickness, using additional sugar as necessary to prevent sticking. For the reeds, cut the flattened candies into zigzag grass shapes with clean scissors.

2. Tint the vanilla frosting blue with food coloring. Spread the blue frosting on top of the mini cupcakes. Place the blue decorating sugar in a small shallow bowl and roll the edge of the cupcakes in the sugar. Insert several pieces of the cut spearmint leaves into the frosting as reeds.

Source:What's New Cupcake?, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010