Edible Cupcake Picks

My family and I drive away from our current home in exactly three weeks from today. Wow. I haven’t shared where we’re going yet, but I have mentioned that it is overseas. I am stressed to the max about it, but incredibly excited because we are moving to the Virgin Islands for at least two years! The whole family is so excited, not just to get to theV.I., but also because of the little vacation we’re taking on our way. When we leave in three weeks, we’ll be driving down the East coast of the U.S. and stopping in Washington D.C.  before continuing on to Disnery World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! The next month is going to be an adventurous whirlwind and I hope I have time to share it all with you.

Since we are now so close to our move date, the hubster’s leave starts today, so I am going to a Going Away Lunch for him today. I’m so incredibly proud of, grateful for, him and the hard work that he has put in to be able to provide such opportunities for his family! I’m also extremely thankful for the Coast Guard for having given him so many opportunities, as well. In honor of that, I decided to make cupcakes for today, but I wanted to do something a little special. I wanted to show my appreciation for my husband and the Coast Guard. I decided the best way to do that was with edible C.G. cupcake picks.

I’ve always thought cupcakes were a silly waste of money…they’re just going to end up in the garbage. Why not make them edible then? I mean, you see edible toppers all the time in the form of cookies, cherries, and fondant sculptures, so why not picks too?

To make your own edible picks, you need decorating bags or zip top bags, a template (optional), candy melts or chocolate, candy coloring (optional), and parchment or wax paper.

If you need very specific colors, like I did for the C.G., then I highly recommend buying candy colors. They are oil based, which helps them bind better to the candy than regular food coloring does. Just be aware that you need quite a bit of color.

I wanted circular picks, and my lens cap was the perfect size, so I traced a bunch of circles with it on my parchment. Once all of the circles are done, I flip the paper over to put the pencil marks on the bottom (they show through). You can do any shape you desire, from freehand to triangles to stars.

If you’re using a template, tape the paper in place so that your design is centered in you circle. If you use a template that has writing or a certain design direction, be sure to flip the image horizontally before printing it so that the writing is backwards.

Trace the design with the outline color. This always has to be first, as you are building these by layers.

Next, figure out what the secondary color would be and fill that one in.

Finally, fill in the final color covering the entire back to make it sturdier, and draw a pick on the bottom. Be sure that the pick is nice and wide where it meets the design so that it doesn’t break easily. Allow these to harden completely before peeling them from the paper.

You can also do simpler and freehand designs, like letters. Be sure to draw the letters backwards so that they are right when you peel the candy off of the paper.

I decided to add a contrasting color to my letters.

Finally, I filled it in with my third color and added the pick. Allow these to harden completely before peeling them from the paper.

Once the candy hardens, gently peel the picks from the paper. If possible, try to complete each color all at once so that they don’t dry out before your done, or you’ll get lines and fading like I did here.

Gently insert your picks into cupcakes or a cake until the point is completely hidden.

My poor ‘S’ is backwards. Just a helpful hint: A forward ‘S’ is is like the number 5, while a backwards ‘S’ is like the number 2. Seeing as how these have to be drawn backwards, I should have thought of a 2, but I didn’t. Oh well!! They’re still super fun and they’ll still taste delicious! I hope you give these a try because they are really fun to make! And kids really (REALLY) love doing these! Have fun and enjoy!!