Stars and Stripes Cupcakes

Is there anything...

ANYTHING...

that doesn't already exist on Pinterest?

I mean, really, are there still new ideas to be born,

or has everything already been thought of? 
 

The other morning, I was laying in bed pretending to be asleep,

so I wouldn't have to get up and walk the dog.

But really, I was wide awake...

thinking about cupcakes.

 

I had this novel idea,

or so I thought at the time.

I wanted to make patriotic cupcakes

and lay them out in a flag design. 

I'd seen lots of variations of that idea on Pinterest, 
but I thought I came up with a unique way
of decorating them with red, white and blue fondant. 

I was figuring out what the steps should be,

while I was in bed,

and working it all out in my head.

When I heard Mr. Goo Shoes come in

from walking Sadie,

I "woke up"... and got busy.

Since this post is all about decorating the cupcakes,

I took the easy way out 

and made red velvet cupcakes from a mix.

(I do have a killer recipe for red velvet cake,

which I'll share another time).

If you haven't worked with fondant,

see my post on Fondant For Beginners. 

And now, without further ado...

STARS AND STRIPES CUPCAKES

MATERIALS:

24 cupcakes of your choice

1 can white frosting

Butter knife

1  package red fondant

1  package white fondant

1  package blue fondant

Smooth surface to roll fondant

Rolling pin

Confectioners' sugar for work surface

Fondant or pizza cutter

2 1/2 inch round fondant, cookie or biscuit cutter.

3/4 inch star-shaped fondant cutter.

Small cup of water

4 Q-tips

STEPS FOR DECORATING CUPCAKES:

1). Bake cupcakes of your choice. 

2). On a dry smooth surface, sprinkle confectioners' sugar to keep the fondant from sticking. Rub confectioners' sugar on rolling pin, as well.

3). While cupcakes cool completely, roll out the red fondant to 1/8" thickness to make the stripes. Flatten into an oblong shape at least 6 inches long (a 6-inch strip will be long enough to trim two circles - see photo below). Using a fondant or pizza cutter, trim edges to form rectangle; then cut strips about 6/8" wide. Make as many strips as you can. Use your fingers to dust off any excess confectioners' sugar. Set aside.

4). Clean surface and dry thoroughly. Sprinkle more confectioners' sugar on surface and rolling pin. Roll out white fondant as large as possible. It should be about 1/8" thick. 

5). Lay three red stripes on top of white fondant. Leave white space in between equal to the width of the red stripes. Cut out circles; then add next three red strips.

6). Using the round cutter, cut out 18 circles.  Cut as many as possible without re-rolling, since there will be red streaks on the white fondant, and re-rolling will cause red streaks to appear in the white fondant. Set circles aside. 

7). In the remaining spaces of the white fondant, cut out 36 white stars, and set aside. 

8). Clean surface and dry thoroughly. Sprinkle more confectioners' sugar on surface and rolling pin. Roll out blue fondant to 1/8" thickness, large enough to cut out six circles with round cutter. Use your fingers to dust off any excess confectioners' sugar. Set aside.

9). To attach stripes to white circles, use q-tips to dab water on the back of red stripes, and place on white circles. Press gently to adhere. If the red stripes "bleed" onto white fondant, use a clean, wet q-tip to clean it off. 

10). Attach stars to blue circles, using the q-tip technique, above.

11). Using a butter knife, spread a thin coating of icing on cupcakes. 

12). Carefully place circles on top of cupcakes. Press gently to adhere. Arrange into flag pattern on a tray.

So, about my idea...
I'm not sure why I even decided to search  
"Stars and Stripes Cupcakes" on Pinterest
when I started writing this post,
but I was shocked when I saw a few versions with

almost the exact same design that I created

while laying in bed. 

In the olden days,

"BP," (Before Pinterest),

you could come up with an idea,

and be none the wiser that 12 other people 

already had the same one. 

Oh, well. 

They're still cute, even if I wasn't the first 

one to think of doing this.

I only wish that Junior Goo Shoes

was home to eat them,

but he left for camp on Saturday. 

Mr. Goo Shoes and I cannot...

CAN NOT...

eat them all.

If you want some, c'mon over,
and I'll pack some up for you.

What do you have planned for July 4th?

We have dinner reservations with some friends 
at one of our favorite restaurants,
which is located on the Hudson River. 
Afterwards, we can watch the fireworks from there.
However, the weather forecast is a bit "iffy" right now...
Tropical Storm Arthur is making his way up the east coast,
and could bring us lots of rain on Thursday or Friday. 
We'll keep our fingers crossed that he fizzles out.

Have a wonderful and safe July 4th!!!

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