Easy Cupcakes

This happy green turtle cupcake is topped with tasty Tootsie Rolls and chocolate-covered raisins. Wearing plastic gloves, you can mold Tootsie Rolls, caramels, Starbursts, Airheads and other candies into all kinds of fun shapes. This design is similar to one I saw in a Betty Crocker publication.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted green; chocolate-covered raisins such as Raisinets; Tootsie Rolls (any size); toothpick.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake green. Add 6 to 10 Raisinets to top for turtle shell “spots.” Wearing gloves, shape chunks of Tootsie roll into four legs, a tail and a head. Use toothpick to draw eyes and a mouth. Add to cupcake.

Mmmm… What could be more delicious than a chocolate monkey cupcake? Certainly not monkey brains; that’s gross. Seriously, though, kids can easily make these pretty primates.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; black writing icing; 2 chocolate candy “melts”; 2 brown mini M&Ms or other brown candy such as Raisinettes; chocolate sprinkles.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Position chocolate melts as ears on left and right side. Sprinkle chocolate jimmies near top for “hair.” Using writing icing in a tube to draw nostrils and mouth. Add chocolate eyes.

When I saw white chocolate candy “melts” in the bulk bins of my local grocery store, I knew they would make great frog eyes. Make up a batch of cupcake for your next hoppin’ party.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green frosting; red string licorice; black string licorice (or just use writing icing); black or dark brown M&Ms; white chocolate melting disks.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake green. Position lengths of red and black licorice as shown for mouse and nostrils. Use dab of icing to stick black M&Ms to white disks. Stick into cupcake for eyes.

Here’s a cute little white mouse cupcake for any party, Christmas time, etc. Make a bunch of mice in different colors! The fuzzy look comes from “pulling” the frosting up with the edge of a butter knife or spatula. Also, get your melts from the supermarket bulk bin to save money while buying only what you need.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 2 white chocolate “melts”; 2 mini chocolate chips; pink jelly bean or other pink candy; black string licorice.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake with a thick layer of white icing (canned is fine). Use a butter knife or spatula edge and press lightly onto frosting and then pull up to create little peaks for a fuzzy appearance. Add wafer candies for ears as well as candy eyes and nose. Stick one end of licorice into back of mouse for tail.

For Easter or anything, these bright pink bunny cupcakes will be a hit with the kids.

What You Need: cupcake; pink frosting (strawberry in a can works well); 1 pink Mentos candy; 2 mini marshmallows; 2 pink Jordan almonds; 2 mini chocolate chips; 2 Tic Tacs.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Frost 3 sides of each mini marshmallow and place on cupcake for bunny cheeks. Add Mentos nose, Tic Tac teeth, mini chocolate chip eyes, and 2 Jordan almond ears.

Make the ears less pointy, and it’s a lamb! I modified this idea from a magazine. So cute for Easter.

What You need: cupcake; white frosting; mini marshmallows; 1 large marshmallow; 2 1/2 pink Jelly Belly jelly beans; 2 mini chocolate chips; kitchen shears.

How to Make it: Cut large marshmallow in half widthwise, pinch to form points, and add jelly beans to the sticky sides. Place near top for ears. Arrange mini marshmallows to form rabbit fur. Cut jellybean in half and place for nose. Add two mini chocolate chips for eyes.

Go crazy with candies on this white bunny cupcake for Easter. Use jelly beans, candy corn, mini marshmallows or whatever you have on hand. Set out an assortment of candies for a fun decorating project for kids.

What You Need: cupcake, white frosting, assorted candies. (I used: Jordan almonds for ears, mini marshmallow cut in half for cheeks, 2 Easter candy corns for bow tie, pink Jelly Belly for nose, large Wilton’s sprinkle circle for eyes, blue mini M&M for eyeball, and pink gel icing in a tube for the mouth).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange 2 candy corns point-to-point for bow. Add other candies as shown, or however you’d like!