Sprinkles Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 package vanilla or chocolate Sprinkles cupcake mix

For the frosting:

3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, firm but not cold
2 Tbs. milk, plus more as needed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
Food coloring as desired

Directions:

-Preheat an oven to 350°F.

-Grease and flour the wells of an ice cream cone pan.

-Make the cupcake batter according to the package instructions.

-Transfer half the batter to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

-Spoon the remaining batter into the prepared wells, dividing evenly and filling each well to within 1 1/2 inches of the rim. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes.

-Let cool for 5 minutes. Gently remove the cupcakes from the pan, and let cool completely.

-Wash and thoroughly dry the pan. Grease and flour the wells and repeat with the remaining batter.

-To make the frosting, have all the ingredients at room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the confectioners sugar, butter, the 2 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt on low speed until combined, about 1 minute.

-Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

-Add food coloring to reach the desired hue and beat until no streaks of white remain, about 30 seconds.

*If the frosting is too dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. -To frost the cupcakes, fit a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with a large star tip and fill with frosting. Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, swirling it on the top to resemble soft-serve ice cream.

Makes 12 cupcakes.