Easy Cupcakes

This lion looks a little goofy but kids will love sticking in the pieces of the licorice mane.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted yellow; red licorice strings (the stiff kind); 2 Cherrios or other O-shaped cereal; 2 blue mini M&Ms; red candy such as Runts; red writing icing or gel in tube, pastry bag or sandwich bag with tip cut off; scissors.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place candy in center for nose. Add blue eyes (with Ms facing down). Draw red mouth using writing icing or gel. Cut licorice in various lengths and poke around edges of cupcake for mane. Add 2 Cheerios for ears.

Whether you’re planning a farm themed party or just pigging out, these cupcakes will keep you in the pink.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted pink; 4 candy-coated licorice pieces (such as Good & Plenty); 2 brown mini M&Ms; circle-shaped fruit roll (such as Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups Stackerz); black writing icing or gel in tube.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake pink. Arrange licorice pieces in 2 triangle shapes for ears. Add M&M eyes. Make 2 nostrils on fruit circle using black writing icing. Place on cupcake for nose.

These turtle cupcakes have legs! Well, Junior Mint legs anyway. They’re fun for kids and adults alike.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted green; 5 green M&Ms (any shade that contrasts with the frosting); 4 Junior Mints; 1 green Necco wafer; 2 candy eyes (or use writing icing or mini M&Ms); red writing icing.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add Junior Mint legs and M&M spots. Add eyes and a piped mouth to the Necco wafer and place on cupcake to form turtle head.

All you need to top this easy lion cupcake is caramel corn, mini M&Ms and a tube of black writing or gel icing. These would be great for a jungle party or other kid event.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted deep yellow; caramel popcorn; 2 blue mini M&Ms; black writing icing or gel icing in a tube.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. (You should do the eyes, nose and mouth first so you don’t have to reach around the mane). Place 2 blue mini M&Ms, writing side down, for eyes. Use tube icing to draw nose and mouth (muzzle). Add caramel corn in a circle around the cupcake for mane.

Make a panda bear cupcake quickly and easily with candies and frosting. Remember, if you don’t have the types of candy described on hand, substitute something else! They’ll still be cute.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 2 mini Oreo cookies; 2 Junior Mints; 1 black jellybean; red and white writing icing or gel.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake generously, so the Oreos will have a base in which to stick upright. Add 2 Oreo cookies for ears. Add Junior Mint eyes and pipe white dot in center. Add jellybean nose and pipe mouth beneath it as shown.

For a fun various on pig cupcakes, try this version with a ring in its nose.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted pink; red mini sugar-coated fruit slice, cut in half; mini pink marshmallow; 2 brown mini M&Ms; red gel or tube icing with round tip.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake pink. Add ears, eyes and nose as shown. Using gel or tube icing, draw U-shape under nose for nose ring.

I saw Cherrios cereal used as animal ears and just had to try it myself. These tigers are super cute, and there’s no piping or other fancy stuff so they’re a “cakewalk” to make.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; icing tinted orange; 2 Cherrios; 1 mini marshmallow; 1 chocolate chip; 2 brown mini M&Ms; black gel icing; scissors.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut marshmallow in half and position both, sticky side down, to form tiger muzzle (cheeks). Add chocolate chip nose and mini M&M eyes. Stick 2 Cheerios in icing for ears. Use black writing icing or gel to make stripes as shown. (Mine started out as zig-zags but melted a bit.)