Crazy Jello & Cute Cupcakes

We had a little family get together which inspired me to make these cute cupcakes! I really liked the way they looked (had to post pics)--but I have to admit they weren't that great to eat. I mean, don't get me wrong...I'd eat them. But they weren't amazing. The cake part was a bit dry. I think it was the brand of mix I used. So next time I will correct this horrible cupcake baking sin! :)
I tried the star tip for that chocolate covered one on the left. Hated it. So went back to the round tip for piping on the frosting. Much better, don't ya think?
After living in this state for...let's see...about 13 years now--I decided it was high time I tried to make a true jello creation (hee hee). I saw this one on CAFE ZUPAS and it was so pretty (their pic looks a billion times better than mine. Poo.)! It took a while to make it, but it was a hit! The "locals" loved it! Including the hubbster. So I will eventually make this again. But I had a couple problems. Jello was on sale at Albertson's so most of the colors I wanted were sold out. Of course. The other thing I didn't like was that my green layer was a very weird green color. I think it is because I got impatient waiting for that layer to cool and so when I poured on the jello mixture, it was too hot and started morphing into the layer below it creating a ghastly shade of green. Well nobody else seemed to mind. This picture of the jello would also have been much cuter with a dollop of cool whip on top. Next time!
Layered Jell-O
2 ½ c boiling water (per packet)
4 - 6 oz. packets of various jell-o flavors and colors (raspberry, lime, pineapple, orange, mixed berry)
4 oz. sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
about 8 oz. cool whip

Place 9×13 glass baking dish in refrigerator on level surface for at least 20 minutes or until completely chilled.
Whip the sour cream and cream cheese together until well combined in a large bowl. Add in the cool whip, beating until smooth. Set aside.
In another bowl combine one packet of jell-o with 2 ½ cup boiling water, let it cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Pour about ¾ of the jell-o into the chilled baking dish making sure it covers the entire bottom. Place back in the refrigerator until when you touch it, it is mostly set. With the remaining jell-o, beat in 3 Tablespoons of the cheese/cool whip mixture until smooth. Pour the jell-o/whip mixture on top of the set jell-o layer. Repeat for each flavor of jell-o making sure each layer is set before adding another (about 15 minutes).

Tips:
1. Make sure that each layer is set well enough (it’s pretty much solid to the touch) before adding on a new layer.
2. Don’t forget to let the newly mixed jell-o & boiling water cool before you add the next layer on, if not it will melt the other layers and things will get all kooky with layers between, separated and to the sides of each other.
3. Once you get into the rhythm of making the layers, it’s becomes quite easy. It’s just super time consuming! You’ll be setting one jell-o layer in the fridge, while the next flavor is cooling. If you want to make double the layers, buy 8 – 3oz packets of jello and use only 1 ¼ c water per packet. But truly, that would take a lot more patience! **this recipe is slightly adapted from CafeZupas.com.