Royal Icing Spider Cupcake

Tonight's tiny little spider cupcake was inspired by the one that comes with the Monster High Coffin Bean playset:

It's made in a similar way to the royal icing blueberry muffin. Stick a parchment square to a flower nail with a dab from a glue stick, pipe a dollop of stiff consistency royal icing in any color with a #199 star tip, stop pressure and pull the tip away… 

 …then tap the peak flat with a fingertip after touching it to a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch.

 Pipe as many as you can on the same parchment square. When they're completely firmed up, peel away the parchment.

Now it's time for the spider part! Pipe a ball of stiff consistency royal icing in any color with a #12 round tip. 

 Allow it to firm up for a while, then pipe four legs on one side with a #3 round tip. Hold the tip against the surface, squeeze while pulling the tip away for a few millimeters, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. Repeat on the other side.

 Pipe the eyes with an oval #57 tip. Hold the tip slightly off the surface, squeeze out an oval-shaped dot of icing, stop pressure and pull the tip away. Tap down a peak, if it remains, with a dusted fingertip.

 When the eyes are dry, give them some pupils with a food-safe marker like AmeriColor Gourmet Writers. These would look really cute in a scene inside a "panoramic egg" eyeball!

Royal Icing Spiderweb Cookie

Tonight's project is sweet and simple and can be done with store-bought cookies (I'm partial to gingersnaps). All you'll need is black stiff consistency royal icing (you could use any color, really; they'd look great in purple, orange or green) and a round #5 tip (or pick a smaller number if you want a thinner web). Start by piping a cross. Hold the tip at a 45 degree angle and just above the surface. Allow the icing to flow out and drop down onto the cookie as you go; don't pull or stretch the icing. 

 Repeat, for a total of 8 spokes.

 Start piping a spiral of drop strings from the middle. This actually looks pretty cool at the halfway point! You could stop here on some of your cookies, or make the center point off to one side so the web is asymmetrical.

 Continue piping drop strings until you run out of room. If you serve a plate of these, you might scatter a few royal icing spiders around to complete the scene.

Royal Icing Fuzzy Spider

Here's a cupcake topper that would be perfect for Halloween, and is a great way to use up whichever icing color you have the most of. The further you can get away from reality, the better! You'll need three colors of stiff consistency royal icing (one for the body, one for the legs, and one for the eyes), round tips #12, #3, and #4, oval tip #57, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, round toothpicks, AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Super Black, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Hold the #57 oval tip almost flat against the surface, and pipe eight legs. Stop pressure, rotate the nail, and restart pressure to form the L-shaped crook of the legs.

 When you get to the end of the leg, stop pressure and pull the tip away, allowing the peak to remain.

 Pipe the body with the #12 tip. Hold it just above and at a right angle to the center. Squeeze out a ball, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the body into shape.

 Use the #4 tip to pipe two balls for eyes…

 …and the #3 tip to pipe the "fur." Hold the tip almost against the surface, squeeze to anchor the icing to it, move the tip away for a couple of millimeters, then stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Lastly, smash the pointy tip of a round toothpick against the counter, dip it into the Super Black, and dab in the eyeballs. Pipe a web over a cake and give these critters a good home!