Easy Cupcakes

Having a ’50s party? Or making cupcakes with kids? These pink poodle cupcakes are quick, cute and simple.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted pink; pink mini marshmallows; pink mini jellybean or other small candy (for nose); black gel or writing icing; scissors.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut all but 2 mini marshmallows in half and place, sticky side down, all over cupcake except for a circle in the middle for the face. The 2 uncut marshmallows can be the dog ears. Add pink candy for nose. Use gel or writing icing to draw eyes and mouth, or use mini M&Ms or chocolate chips for eyes.

I’ve seen versions of these bear cupcakes in several books and magazines and finally went looking for the chocolate nonpareil wafer candies that form the muzzle for these cute cubs. Immediately, I whipped up a batch for the preschool bake sale. My 3-year-old put the “muzzle” candies on.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; chocolate nonpareil (white sprinkles) candy; red hot cinnamon imperial candies; red icing or gel (I just used Wilton icing in a premade tube with a #3 tip and coupler.)
How to Make It: Frost cupcakes. Place chocolate nonpareil in center. Use red to “draw” on a mouth as shown. Immediately (so it will stick) place red hot candy for nose and 2 for eyes. If you want, you can add cookies (such as mini Oreos or mini Nilla wafers) for ears.

These cupcakes are inspired by the latest Betty Crocker Supermoist publication. You can make the sand out of crushed-up graham crackers or just use brown sugar.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted blue; Lifesaver candy; Teddy Graham bear; paper umbrella; graham crackers or brown sugar. (If you use brown sugar, serve the cupcakes right away or the sugar may start dissolving into the frosting.)
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. sprinkle graham cracker crumbs or brown sugar at one edge for “sand.” Cut legs off bear (ouch!) and use a dab of frosting to stick into Lifesaver. Add paper umbrella.

There are plenty of ways to make cute pig cupcakes. Don’t squeal if you don’t have the exact same candies we used. Just have fun with it!
What You Need: 1 cupcake; icing tinted pink or mauve; 2 pink heart candies; 1 pink Jordan almond; 2 blue mini M&Ms; white writing icing.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place hearts, upside down, at top for ears. Add almond nose. Use white writing icing or gel to make pig nose nostrils.

Silly rabbit. What’s with those teeth? They’re Tic-Tac mints! Have fun making these easy bunnies for Easter.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; regular-size marshmallow; pink sugar; 2 chocolate chips; pink jelly bean; 2 white Tic-Tacs; scissors or kitchen shears; pastry bag and No. 4 or 5 round metal tip or tube icing and round tip (this step is optional.)
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut marshmallow in half widthwise and sprinkle each half with pink sugar and place on cupcake for ears. If you’d like and have the gear, pipe (squeeze while holding tip in same place, stop squeezing and pull away) white icing in two mounds for bunny cheeks. Add chocolate chip eyes, jelly bean nose and Tic Tac teeth.

Get hopping for Leap Day or any day with these fun frog cupcakes that use marshmallows for buggy eyes.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; icing tinted green; 1 marshmallow; black gel or writing icing; red licorice; scissors.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use kitchen shears or floured scissors to cut marshmallow in half widthwide Use black to make 2 eyeball dots on the not-sticky end of the marshmallow halves. Set eyeballs on cupcake. Add red licorice mouth.

It only comes around every four years: It’s Leap Day, February 29th, and 2008 is the year for it. If you’re reading this later, you don’t have to wait until the next leap year in 2012 to enjoy these fun frog cupcakes. They’re hoppin’ good for any occasion.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; green fondant; circle cutter; gummy frog; candy flower (or piped icing flower).
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Roll out fondant (see our cupcakes and fondant page for tips) and cut out circle. Then cut triangle-shaped notch out of circle so it looks like a lilypad. Use dabs of icing to stick gummy frog and flower to lily pad.