Fall means apple picking, cozy plaid scarves and (of course) lots and lots of pumpkin. But, psst, here's a secret: All of that stuff is even better when you turn it into a cupcake. Here are nine icons of fall — cupcake-ified.

Play sculptor with your frosting and you can create a bushel of apples even sweeter than the ones found in an orchard. Use an offset spatula to apply a mound of frosting to the top of each cupcake. Make divots in the centers of the frosting mounds and then dip them in red or green sparkling sugar. Fashion a chocolate chew into an apple stem by cutting it lengthwise into a few pieces and and then rolling the pieces between your palms. Place a candy stem upright in the center of each divot. Use matching red and green cupcake liners for maximum cuteness.

Frost cupcakes with buttercream and immediately cover them with dyed shredded coconut or green sprinkles — check baking supply stores for long, skinny ones that resemble grass. Place three or more store-bought candy pumpkins on top and tuck mint leaves between them for the teeniest little pumpkin patch ever.

These toppers are proof that cupcakes can look cozy! Roll out ready-made red fondant onto a sheet of waxed paper. Cut out 2-1/2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Using a clean paintbrush (and not one that you've already used for painting!), brush on 1/2-inch-wide stripes of black food coloring. Let them stand until dry, about 1 hour. Then pop each disk on top of a frosted cupcake.