Mini Cupcake Mortarboards

Make this fun, delicious dessert to honour your graduate! ...MORE + LESS -

1 box Betty Crocker* SuperMoist* cake mix (any flavour)

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

1 box Betty Crocker* Fruit by the Foot* chewy fruit snack rolls (any flavour) or shoestring licorice

1 tub Betty Crocker* Creamy Deluxe* Vanilla Frosting

Food colour

60 square shortbread cookies

60 candy-coated chocolate or fruit-flavoured candies

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1

Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pans). Place miniature paper baking cups in 24 mini muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box. Fill cups 2/3 full of batter (about 1 rounded tablespoon each). Refrigerate remaining batter.
2

Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean; cool. Repeat with remaining batter. (Leave paper baking cups on cupcakes so mortarboards are quicker and easier to make and more portable to serve.)
3

To make tassels: Cut sixty 2 1/2-inch lengths from fruit snack rolls. Cut each into several strips up to 1/2 inch from 1 end. Roll uncut end between fingertips to make tassels. Or cut several pieces of shoestring licorice into 2 1/2-inch lengths.
4

Tint frosting with food colour to match paper baking cups. Frost bottoms of cookies. Place 1 candy on centre of each. For each mortarboard, place small dollop of frosting on bottom of cupcake; top with cookie. Press uncut end of fruit snack or 3 or 4 pieces of licorice into frosted cookie next to candy. Store loosely covered.