Easy Cupcakes

These fun clown cupcakes are based on a design I saw a few years back in a Martha Stewart publication. The hat is a Bugle snack!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting color of choice; 1 large marshmallow; 1 small marshmallow; food-safe pens; mini jujubes in various colors; red M&M; 1 Bugle.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use food-safe pen to add dots for eyes to marshmallow as shown. Use dab of icing to attach red M&M for nose. Place marshmallow flat side down in center of cupcake. Surround with mini jujube fruits, larger side facing outward. Use icing to attach small marshmallow to end of Bugle, or just poke it on there. Attach Bugle to top of marshmallow for hat. You could also choose to decorate the hat.

I used a few shortcuts to make these clown cupcakes quick and easy. I didn’t feel like mixing up icing, or even tinting frosting from a can, so I attached a star tip to Wilton icing in a tube and used that. Also, you could pipe a red mouth, but I just used licorice.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; yellow icing in a tube; metal or plastic star tip and coupler; cherry or sour red candy balls; heart-shaped red hots (cinnamon imperials); 2 lime Runts (or other candy); red licorice.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Use star tip and yellow icing with star tip to “draw” hair. Add 2 red hots with points facing inward for bows (You could also use red Runts; they are kind of heart-shaped). Place 2 lime Runts for eyes and a red cherry or sour ball for nose. Add strand of red licorice for mouth. Remember, you don’t have to have these exact candies–just use what you have on hand!

Shiver me timbers! These cupcakes would be great for a kid’s pirate party or a viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean. And they’re easy, matey. This idea is adapted from a Betty Crocker publication.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting; fruit rolls or strips; M&Ms; chocolate chips; round candy with hole (such as from candy necklace); red licorice strand; scissors.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use scissors to cut fruit roll in shape of a pirate kerchief. Add candy “earring.” Add M&M and chocolate chips eyes and licorice mouth. Now, walk the plank!