Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes

Making the Cupcakes:

Ingredients: 

• 3 oz. package of orange gelatin
• 1 package white cake mix
• 1 package of cheesecake instant pudding mix
• 1 1/4 cup orange juice
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon canilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Set aside 2 teaspoons of orange gelatin for frosting. Beat the rest of the gelatin, cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, eggs, oil, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. 
3. Place cupcake liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter into cups, making them about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. 
4. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups to cool faster.

Making the Frosting: 

Ingredients: 

• 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. orange peel
• 2 tsp of orange gelatin mix (from earlier)

Instructions:

1. Let cream cheese and butter cool at room temp. for about a half hour. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar to the frosting until it reaches a good spreading consistency. 
2. Place a fourth of the frosting in a smaller bowl. To this, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.
3. To the rest of the frosting, add gelatin and orange peel. (You may also add orange food coloring for and "orangier" look). 

After the Frosting is Made: 

1. Frost each cupcake with the orange frosting like normal. Then add a star shaped white dot on top of each. (This will give you the "dreamsicle" look). 

Tips From Hayley and Kate:

• You may want to add extra orange peel to the frosting for a fresher taste! 
• When cooling, we set the cupcakes on the sides, so that their middles do not sink in!
• When you frost, you can leave out the white frosting if you wish! 
• These cupcakes are delish and will satisfy your hunger for "orange"!