Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

We tried ice cream cone cupcakes last year for a birthday, and they were a big hit!  They tasted great, the kids loved them, and I loved the lack of plates/forks needed!  So for our 5 year old's birthday, we made them again.  I went with a basic boxed cake mix.

I filled the cones with just less than 1/4 c. of batter.  I figured that the muffin tin would be the easiest way to bake them.  I later read online that if you cover it with foil and poke a hole in each spot for the cones, they're even more stable!  Good to know for next time!

One recipe suggested that it was way too messy to stand them up, and you should bake them upside down - fill the cup first, and put the cone on top.  Figured I'd give it a try.

I baked them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The upside down ones (on the right) looked realy strange, and would require a lot of icing to make them look good.  The right-side up ones looked very cute, slightly curved on top and lightly browned.  I don't know why anyone would prefer the upside down ones - I won't be doing it like that again.  I had no issues with them tipping over or anything.

I didn't have any cake-decorating bags or tips or anything, so I just scooped my icing into a ziploc bag.  I cut the corner off and decorated the cupcakes.  These would have been really cute with a few sprinkles on top too.

(Notice the muffin tin lined with foil - I used it for serving the cupcakes - worked well. I'll use it for baking next time!)

We'll definitely do these again.  Like I said earlier, there is no need for plates or cutlery, and the kids just loved them!  I'm wondering about maybe putting something fun in the bottom of each cone next time before adding the batter - maybe a Hershey's kiss or something?