Easy Cupcakes

The moon on this cupcake, which is perfect for Halloween, is actually a banana candy!

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); chocolate frosting; Junior Mint; brown M&M; bit of black licorice (for tail); black writing icing or gel and Runts banana candy.
Make That Cupcake!: Frost cupcake. Position Junior Mint as cat body and M&M as head. Use writing icing to draw triangle ears. Add black licorice for tail (or you could just draw the tail). Add banana moon and there you go! A fun cat for Halloween or anytime.

These cute fish cupcakes owe their open mouths to O-shaped Life Savers candies!

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white or off-white frosting; orange paste-style food coloring or red and yellow liquid food coloring; 3 mini candied orange slices; two blue M&Ms; 1 Life Saver.
Make That Cupcake!: Tint frosting orange (or actually any color you’d like your fish to be). Add three candied orange slices at sides and back of cupcake for fins and tail. Add blue M&Ms (upside down) for eyes and Life Saver candy for mouth. Create a whole school of these fish for a swim party!

These fast frogs come together thanks to gumdrops, red hot candies and cut-up fruit roll tongue.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white or off-white frosting; liquid or paste green food coloring; two green gumdrops; 2 cinnamon imperials (“red hots”), red fruit roll (We used Fruit by the Foot).
Make That Cupcake!: Tint frosting green and frost cupcake. Use dab of icing to stick red hots to front of gumdrops and place on cupcake for eyes. Cut notch in fruit roll for tongue shape and stick to front of cupcake for tongue. You can make a bunch of frogs, all with different tongue lengths!

Quick and fun for kids to make, these dinosaur cupcakes get a fun and edible twist thanks to colored coconut flakes “grass” and candy “rocks.” Just don’t eat the plastic dino!

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white or off-white frosting; green liquid food coloring; coconut flakes; candy rocks (get them cheap in the bulk food aisle); and plastic dinosaur.
Make That Cupcake!: Tint frosting green and frost cupcakes. Use liquid green food coloring to dye coconut flakes in a bowl or bag (it doesn’t have to be perfect; variations look like natural grass). Sprinkle coconut flakes on cupcake. Place dinosaur on top of cupcake, sinking in feet if needed. Add candy rocks. Roar!