Owl Cupcakes

Me: I'm so happy with how these are turning out! I should put a photo on the blog, with a note about how I feel like I already have a kindergartener...

Matt: Are you talking about me?

Me: Who am I frosting owl cupcakes for at 10:30 pm?

Matt: Me...

One of the grants Matt works with is called Online With Libraries, generally shortened to OWL. He and his coworkers have had fun with the owl theme, decking out their office in everything from owl mugs to posters to finger puppets. A friend sent us an owl toy for the baby -- it mysteriously disappeared, and I saw it the other day on Matt's desk.

This past Sunday, my mother won a gift basket with an owl cupcake pan at their parish harvest festival; knowing how much fun Matt would have with it, she sent it home with us. Coincidentally enough, yesterday was his coworker's last day, so I was already quasi-committed to baking something to send in to the office this week. What could be more apropos for an OWL employee's farewell than owl cupcakes?

Which is why I found myself frosting owl cupcakes at 10:30 pm. It is a good thing I don't have a kindergartener yet... I need all the time I can get to practice making "cute food" before I have to worry about sending snacks with him to class! My family's artistic genes definitely skipped me... One sister draws, sews, beads, makes dolls, plays the violin, and decorated our wedding cake. Another sews, quilts, knits, sings, plays the recorder and tin whistle, and does fancy embroidery. Me? I can crochet straight lines.

Clearly, art is not one of my strongest points. While not exactly Pinterest-worthy, though, I'm quite happy with my cute, cross-eyed little owls:

Yes, they have green beaks. I didn't have any yellow food coloring, and Matt didn't want me to use turmeric... I wanted to make the breasts white and the feet some color other than chocolate, but I worried they would come out looking like penguins. Maybe next time they will look more like proper owls!