Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your cupcake pan with liners.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside.

In another bowl, beat together the milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture in batches, making sure the batter is well incorporated.

Carefully pour the boiling water in intervals into the cupcake batter and mix until smooth.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each one about three-quarters full.

Bake the Halloween cupcakes for 25 minutes.

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make the frosting. Cream the butter until light and creamy, then stir in the vanilla extract and sugar in batches.

Beat the frosting for 5 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.

Divide the frosting into three parts and tint each part with the food coloring gels.

Frost the cooled cupcakes.

To make the Oreo bats, carefully twist each Oreo cookie apart. You’ll have one cookie with cream and one without.

Cut the plain cookie in half to create two semi-circles. These will be the bat’s wings.

For the bat’s body, twist open another Oreo. Place a popsicle stick in the center of the cream side. Then, press the two cookie wings onto the cream, one on each side.

Place another cream-covered cookie half on top to sandwich the popsicle stick and wings in place.

Attach the candy eyes to the front of the Oreo bat using a small dab of frosting as glue.

Insert the Oreo bat into the frosted cupcake.

Repeat the steps until all cupcakes have Oreo bat decorations.