Cookie Monster Cupcakes

This time I tried to make the famous Cookie Monster cupcakes, as shown by this tutorial. I've seen the picture of them around tumblr and the internet a couple times, so I decided to give them a try when my boyfriend asked me if they were difficult to make. 

Once I got around it and watched the tutorial I felt very disappointed when I learned she used purchased muffins instead of cupcakes. I realized the reason to do so makes it easier to fit the cookie inside the bread, since the muffin have bigger tops that the cupcakes. However, I decided I would bake my own cupcakes and in case they were too small, purchase muffins as my back-up plan. 

My first batch of cupcakes were not big enough for a Cookie Monster cupcake. I kept them and figured I could make some 'Cookie Monster' inspired cupcakes with them later. The second batch looked like this:

Then we had the frosting. She is not kidding when she says you need A LOT of blue dye to get the right color. I think mine's still a little too light, but I was about to finish the bottle and had my hands completely tinted in blue.

Now, for the furry-like shape of the Cookie Monster, she used dried coconut and dyed it blue. It seemed fair enough so I did the same thing. Once again, I used a lot of blue dye and actually got it looking more blue than the frosting.

So I took my cupcake and applied the blue frosting making sure to cover all of it. Next step is to dip it in the dried coconut. 

...not quite the result I was looking for. Although it did not look bad, it certainly did not resemble the Cookie Monster! The problem here is that my dried coconut came in stripes, while hers looked more like powder.

After a panic attack, I looked for my handy-dandy pastry bag and star-shaped tip and did my best to give it a furry effect. 

I also decorated the smaller cupcakes with the same blue frosting and added small chocolate chips as if they were some sort of blue cookie. 

Next step was adding the cookie to the cupcake. The gap she makes with a knife in the video is quite big, but I discovered that (since my cupcakes are smaller than a muffin) I did not need to cut that much. Just a small cut will do to make the cookie stay. 

Here's where things did not turn out very successfully. Unfortunately they don't sell Cadbury chocolate in Mexico, so I could not get the white buttons. I found something similar in a local bakery shop, although I discovered quite late they were not big enough for the cupcake. The result is that instead of having the big-googlie-eyes that characterize the Cookie Monster, I got a very reasonable-looking Cookie Monster. I guess he won't steal your cookies.