Apple Cupcakes

Heat oven to 350ºF. You'll need 24 muffin cups lined with paper or foil cups.

Cupcakes: Combine cupcake ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on low speed until ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes, until batter is smooth.

Fill muffin cups with a scant 1/4 cup batter. Bake 22 minutes or until a pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack.

Icing: Beat cream cheese and apple juice concentrate with a mixer just until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar on low speed to mix; increase speed to medium and beat until well blended, about 1 minute more (icing will be soft).

Decorate: Divide frosting into thirds. Tint each to desired shade with brown, green and yellow food colors. Spread frosting on cupcakes. Store cupcakes in refrigerator.

Apples: Tint pieces of marzipan brown, green and yellow. Form the green and yellow marzipan into apple shapes. Form brown into apple stems; press into tops of apples. For red blush on yellow apples, dilute red food color with water. Apply with a small, clean artist's brush; let dry.

Acorns: Tint pieces of marzipan light and dark brown. Form dark brown marzipan into acorn shapes, and light brown into caps and stems. Use the back of a small knife to make cross-hatching on caps.

Leaves: Work brown, green and yellow food colors into chunks of marzipan. Roll out between sheets of wax paper to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut leaf shapes with small leaf cookie cutters. Use back of a small knife to mark leaf veins.

Note: Gel and paste colors and small leaf cookie cutters are sold at crafts stores and are also available from Wilton at wilton.com