Cupcake Cones

The kids picked these out of the "Cake Mix Dr" cookbook so we made these "little man's" birthday party.

Makes: 24 cones, + 10 cupcakes
Prep: 15 minutes
Baking: 20-25 minutes
Assembly time: 15 minutes

24 good-quality flat-bottom ice cream cones
**1 pkg white or yellow cake mix
1 1/3 c. water
1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla

**Can use devil's food cake mix instead, and substitute 1/2 t. cinnamon for the vanilla.

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Wrap a small square of aluminum foil around the base of each of the empty ice cream cones, and stand the cones in ungreased muffin baking pans. Set pans aside. (Make sure the cones with foil are FLAT on the bottom, or they'll tip over.)

2. Place the cake mix, water, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend wiht a mixer on low for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and mix on medium for 2 minutes. Spoon approx. 1/4 c. of the batter into each ice cream cone, filling it a little more than 1/2 full.

3. Carefully, place the pans in the oven and bake until cake springs back when lightly touched with your finger, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and cool for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile prepare frosting.

Buttercream Frosting:
8 T. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 c. pwd sugar
3-4 T. milk
2 t. vanilla

a. Place butter in large mixing bowl, and blend for 30 seconds. Add sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes. Blend in 1 T. milk more if the frosting seems too stiff.

5. Remove the foil from the base of each cone and frost the tops with frosting. (I put the frosting in a sandwich bag, cut off the corner and swirled the frosting on so it looks like a soft-serve ice cream cone.) Decorate with sprinkles soon after frosting (so the sprinkles stick to the frosting). Serve on a platter, or as I did- arrange 2 cones each in each muffin tin. (BAKE ONLY ONE in each tin, not 2 as I have it displayed.)