*Little Orphan Annie & Her Dog Sandy*

Annie & Sandy Cupcakes- Rainbow "Funfetti" cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting decorated with chocolate balls and sugar fondant with food coloring pen

Annie was the first Broadway musical I saw in San Francisco when I was a kid as it rolled through 'The City' during it's nationwide tour. It's always been a favorite of mine, and I was thrilled to find out our local children's theater group would be putting it on as their Summer show.

Although these performances boast loads of former students, and it's a blast to see them grow up on stage from show to show, one family in particular have always been kind enough to invite me to a performance every season.  Typically, I would arrive with an armful of those plush fabric daisies, the kind you can get at a grocery store or stationary store for the girls as a gift. But as I had been coming to these performances for over 2 years, I figured it was time for me to change it up.

I knew they liked cupcakes because their mom had asked me to make them for the oldest (and my former student) for her birthday last year.  Sadly, I didn't take pictures so they're not here, but they were Red Velvet cupcakes decorated with High School Musical picks.  So I thought cupcakes would be easy enough to transport to the theater.  And having recently purchased a really great cupcake book called Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, I was inspired to make a companion Sandy cupcake for the Annie cupcakes.

Although they didn't turn out exactly like the dog cupcakes on the cover, the directions and pictures were extremely helpful and I found the process to be a lot of fun.  

Unfortunately, as the daytime performance went on (and it was a delightful show with loads of smiling, familiar faces!) the theater began to heat up and the cupcakes looked a little disheveled by the time I saw the family afterwards.  They still loved them and started showing them off to other parents from the show, and thanks to that impromptu free advertising, I may have a chance to put a treat or two up on their auction block for their upcoming season!  And although they didn't look pristine at the end of the performance, at least here they are saved for posterity as they looked in my kitchen!