Easy Cupcakes

These pink pig cupcakes get their sweet, textured ears from sugar wafer cookies with waffle pattern.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted pink; pink sugar wafer cookie; large pink candy-coated mint or similar pink candy; 2 blue mini M&Ms; white icing in tube or pastry bag; knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use knife to cut cookies into triangle shapes and place near top of pig’s head for ears. Pipe 2 white dots on pink candy for nose and place in center of face. Add M&M eyes.

These cat cupcakes are ready for Halloween with their angled candy corn eyes!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; black string licorice; 2 pieces candy corn; 2 Junior Mints; 1 red hot (cinnamon imperial).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut off 1/3 of each Junior Mint and stick near top of cupcake for kitty ears. Add red hot nose and candy corn eyes. Cut four lengths of string licorice for whiskers.

This big-eyed owl cupcakes are a hoot (sorry!) on Halloween or anytime.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 2 white fruit gels; 2 brown or black M&Ms; 1 banana candy (such as Runts).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange gels side-by-side. Use dab of icing to attach one M&M to each gel. Stick banana nose in center.

Three bluebirds await their mama bird in a nest on this cupcake, which features toasted coconut.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted green; toasted coconut; 3 pastel blue M&Ms; food-safe markers.

How to Make It: Toast coconut for 5-10 minutes in 350-degree oven. Let cool. Frost cupcake green. Sprinkle center with coconut for nest. Use food-safe markers to draw eyes and beak on each M&M. Arrange birds in nest.

Toasted coconut provides the perfect texture for this lion cupcake. Make some for your next zoo or jungle party!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow frosting; shredded coconut; 2 large yellow M&Ms; small pink candy; 2 brown mini M&Ms; black string licorice; scissors or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Toast coconut (5-10 minutes in 350-degree oven). Once cooled, sprinkled coconut around perimeter of cupcake for mane. Add candy muzzle, nose and eyes. Cut licorice into four equal lengths for whiskers.

Make a cute bear with a few candies and some Cocoa Puffs cereal!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 2 black M&Ms; 1 blackberry candy; 6 Cocoa Puffs.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange 3 Cocoa Puffs on each side of top of cupcake for ears. Add M&M eyes and berry nose.

Cut apart sugar-coated fruit gel or “gem” candies to make these chick cupcakes for Easter, a farm party or anytime. They also make cute baby shower cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow or other light-colored icing; 3 yellow fruit gels or gems; 1 orange fruit gel or gem; 2 blue mini M&Ms; scissors, kitchen shears or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut a small (approx. 1/4 inch) amount off the bottom of one yellow fruit gel for chick body and position about 1/2″ from bottom of the cupcake, cut edge facing down. Cut second yellow fruit or gel or gem in half and position to left and right of body for wings. Place third gel on top of body for head. Cut two medium triangle wedges for feet and a small wedge for beak. Adhere beak and blue M&M eyes to head using small dabs of icing.