Very cute hedgehog cuppies!

I get those little sprinkles at the local grocery store, or at Michael's (use a 40% off coupon).

The jar I have now is 9.3 ounces of longish-sized sprinkles and they are called "Betty Crocker Parlor Perfect Chocolate Sprinkles Ice Cream Toppings." They can also go by different names, but the jar is clear except for the label, so you can see what you're buying.

You really don't need a huge amount of these sprinkles... since you're only using these for half of the cupcake topping decoration, my jar would probably cover at least 75 cupcakes. I don't really buy them for the taste (the taste is "meh"), although I'd guess the ones from Callebaut would be delish!

Smiles,

Sooz

I found a Dutch store that carries several kind of chocolate sprinkles.

http://www.thedutchstore.com/webstore/product.aspx?code=145&list=104A145&type=ITEMCATEGORY

ETA

Under bread toppings there are subs, like jam and chocolate sprinkles in a separate tab.

I had some of the chocolate sprinkles from the Netherlands, a gift from a Harvest Forum member. She said they ate them on toast for breakfast and they were better tasting than the ordinary chocolate sprinkles I bought at the grocery store. I also find that Wilton products are everywhere, but not always the best in flavor or quality.

I do buy decorations and fondant on line, as well as things like cake wraps and gum paste flowers. There are a couple of places I get bulk sprinkles, like these:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/9443/baking-toppings-and-add-ins.html

http://www.bulkfood.net/site/1025611/page/875034

Have fun!

Annie

Thank you both. I didn't see that website for the Dutch chocolate...Amazon links to a different company, but the same product.

Annie, thanks for the info about the Dutch chocolate vs Wilton. I'm not sure that an 8 year old or his friends is going to be able to discern the difference, but Grandma knows!

I was surprised that they used sprinkles as a toast topping! Kind of like candy for breakfast. Maybe I'm fooling myself that toast and jam is a bit more nutritious than toast and candy!

Joann has quite an assortment of Wilton baking supplies (pans, fondant, sprinkles, etc.). The chocolate sprinkles similar to the ones you posted are called chocolate Jimmies.

Thanks, Donna, I was just looking for some that might be a little longer to make the fur and tasted better than Wilton, not that kids care, lol. I did order the Dutch ones, so we'll see.

Olychick, I was a bit surprised too, but Ashley thought it was the best idea ever conceived, LOL. I suppose it's not really different than Nutella in crepes, now that I think about it, or that chocolate filled croissant that the French eat. I guess Grandpa was right, pie for breakfast was no different than toast and jam, LOL.

I even found a picture of a box of DeRuijter that shows the sprinkles on a piece of toast, so maybe that's a good brand to look for. http://www.jimmyco.com/chocolate-sprinkles/

The guy with the blog says he got them at Cost Plus World Market!

Annie

Well, darn I already ordered them; I never would have thought to look at World Market!

Yeah, me neither. Ah well, they'll all be appreciated by the cupcake consumers, I'm sure!

Annie

ok, Olychick, I think I feel like chopped liver.

<insert sad face here>

No, sooz, how can chocolate sprinkles be bad? Or cupcakes, for that matter?

Of course, I actually LIKE liver, so that's not bad either. (grin)

Annie

Sooz, for some reason your post never showed up for me until just now! (I have abysmal internet that sometimes doesn't load pages fully). If I'd have seen it, I would have looked at the grocery for those, so thanks for trying! And I, too, love liver, chopped or otherwise. Put on your happy face!

Let me know what you think of the Dutch sprinkles if you ever get a chance? I worked with a Dutch lady and she gave us a package of loads of different types they have, after seeing her nosh on them for breakfast. I thought they were pretty good. I like the different colored sugar ones more for the toast, but the chocolate were pretty good.

The sprinkles arrived and they are very different than the ones I usually see. They are like real chocolate instead of brown colored paraffin bits that have no taste. I haven't used them yet, but I think they will be perfect, as they are longer than the kind in the little sprinkle bottles so will look more like hedgehog spikes.

The disappointing thing is that they aren't very fresh, they have a bit of that white haze that old or overheated chocolate gets. If I didn't need them, I'd have returned them. They taste fine and the whitish cast might actually look good as hedgehogs, but they were really expensive packages and the pull dates are just in a couple months. I might see if I have any left and ask for a partial refund.

They seem more delicate that the more common kind, so I am hesitant to let them sit on the frosting overnight as I planned. Here's hoping I can decorate 40 cupcakes the morning of the party, so they don't dissolve on the buttercream.

Well, the party's over and the cupcakes turned out pretty cute - but very different than my plan. I made and frosted the cupcakes on Friday and intended to decorate them with the sprinkles on Sat a.m. for the 3 pm party. Who knew that buttercream crusts over after sitting for a few hours (even in a tupperware container) so the sprinkles wouldn't stick! Not me, so I had hairless/spineless hedgehogs.

The fancy sprinkles were more delicate and I worried about them melting into a too moist frosting which is why I didn't put them on when the frosting was soft- also no time to run to Michaels for a bunch of the regular sprinkles. So I ended up adding cocoa to the last batch of frosting I had and then forced the frosting through the fine strainer on my foodmill to make little clumps of fur-like frosting - then place them on the cupcakes with a toothpick. OMG it was so labor intensive and the choc frosting was not easy to get to stick to the dry buttercream either, but I just kind of crammed it on. I made a few mini cupcakes for the wee ones at the party and about 1/2 way into this decorating nightmare, I was wishing I'd made all of them mini.

The cupcakes had WAY too much frosting and I figured the kids would just leave it on their plates, but they seemed to eat every bit. I hope they eventually went to sleep, lol.

Those are super cute and they look just terrific! If you ever need more sprinkles, I think Whole Foods has some of the Dutch ones and we just saw a larger bag at TJX of all places (unknown brand, looked more like regular ones). Also, Wilton has a “fur” tip (not much easier to use than the strainer, but a little probably). Think they either call it fur or grass. (If you need to add to random kitchen bits). Thinking that if I show my daughter your photo, I’m going to have to make them.,.

[Olychick - It's not your internet connection, it's this site. I frequently see posts popping up well after the fact. It's particularly annoying when it makes it look like someone (esp me) repeated something someone already said.]

Thanks, FOAS, I didn't think of that, just assumed it was on my end.

I think they turned out darling, and what a great compliment that the kids scarfed them down--and those little noses are just too too cute! Yup, labor intensive and surprises (crusting buttercream), but I betcha if you do it again, it won't take as much time. If you google "animal cupcakes" you'll get more inspiration.

These Santa Cupcakes were pretty easy to make for a Christmas Pot Luck--but I'd suggest using "mini" chocolate chips for the eyes and turning the pointy end into the frosting... Santa looks kinda wasted with the regular choc chips!

HB, I actually bought a grass tip, but am not an experience decorator, so decided I didn't want to put in the time for the learning curve, once I saw the easier sprinkles inspiration. And I was worried my hand/wrist would give out decorating so many of them, even if I could figure out how to do it.

Sooz, thanks. I think may be one of the things I will chalk up to a learning experience, but will never have the opportunity to use again. Like so many things in life, lol! I did use the mini chips for eyes and little pink pearl candies for the noses. I even had one little girl come up and ask if the noses were edible, they looked so much like pearls. Some of the choc chips were joined together so I made a couple of little cross eyed hedgehogs.

Those Santas are very cute and what kid doesn't love marshmallows?!

Olychick, those turned out really cute and apparently they tasted good, as the kids scarfed them up and liked them. They were for them anyway, so your audience was very happy, I think.

Yes, buttercream crusts. That's why I like it for frosting Christmas cookies and cupcakes, not as hard as royal icing and it tastes a lot better, but it sets up enough to be sturdy. You're right, though, sprinkles definitely won't stick the next day. You could have taken a damp knife and smoothed the buttercream and then the sprinkles would have stuck, but your way worked so it's all good.

Annie

Olychick, ya never know when you may need to make cute cupcakes, and you'll have a bit of experience already under your apron strings!

Smiles,

Sooz

Sooz, I'll think twice before volunteering for something with so much possibility for snafu's. I'm an experienced cook and baker, but just have never needed to do this type of decorating for cakes. And unless I do a lot of practicing with the frosting tips before I need to use them, I'll be in the same boat next time...oh, well, it turned out fine and I mostly have the frosting cleaned off of every surface in my kitchen.

Thanks, Annie. I did think of moistening the frosting, but the sprinkles from the Netherlands were so delicate, I was afraid they'd end up a mushy mess from the moisture. Live and learn. So much for my fancy sprinkles.