Easy Cupcakes

If you’re able to find these patriotic-themed conversation hearts by Necco, you can make the perfect cupcakes for Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, military events and other occasions. They are sold under the Sweethearts label and called “Red, White & You.” They have sayings such as: USO, Thank You, Miss You and Home Safe. If you can’t find them (they’re also available at the Necco store, you can substitute red and blue hearts of any kind.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 3 red and blue conversation hearts.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. position hearts on top.

Do you have candy hearts left over from Valentine’s Day? Use the green ones to make shamrocks for your St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes! (And if you bought an extra can of green frosting at Christmastime, you’re ahead of the game.)

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; 3 candy hearts (Necco, etc.) or four if you want a four-leaf clover; green writing icing with round metal tip or icing in tube; rainbow sprinkles.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange hearts in clover shape. Use green icing to “draw” a stem (optional). Sprinkle rim with rainbow sprinkles.

Spice up Valentine cupcakes by simply arranging red hot candies in the shape of a heart.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted pink; red hots (cinnamon imperials).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place red hots on cupcake in a heart shape.

A heart-shaped muffin cup or cupcake liner makes the perfect shape for Santa’s face!

What You Need: Aluminum (such as by Reynolds), silicon or other heart-shaped muffin tin or cupcake liner; white frosting; red sprinkles; 5 mini marshmallows; shaved coconut; 2 blue mini M&Ms; 1 black M&M; 1 round or tear-shaped red candy.

How to Make It: Turn heart shape upside down and frost curved part white for beard base. Sprinkle with coconut. Frost very top of heart point for hat. Sprinkle with red sugar or sprinkles. Add marshmallows to bottom of hat, plus one at the top. Add candy eyes, nose and mouth.

It’s easier than you think to pipe icing hearts on top of your cupcakes!
What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); icing tinted pink; premade tube of red icing and round tip OR red icing in pastry bag with round tip such as #3.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake pink. To make the left half of the heart, squeeze red icing from tip at 90 degree angle on cupcake so it forms a blob, and then (while easing up on the squeeze power), move downward and stop squeezing before you pull away. Then do the same for the right half of the heart. If your heart has too much of a “seam,” wet a small paintbrush and ease the edges together.

Use your imagination with these simple Valentine cupcakes featuring a heart outline with sprinkles inside. Try varying the icing colors and style of sprinkles for variety.
What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); frosting tinted pink; red writing icing OR pastry bag with icing tinted red and #3 tip OR cut corner off sandwich bag and use that to pipe icing tinted red; sprinkles.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake pink. Pipe heart shaped outline in red. Carefully fill in center with sprinkles.

Here’s a sweet for your sweet on Valentine’s Day. Make a batch of heart shaped cupcakes and decorate them in pastel colors like candy conversation hearts. You can using icing to write traditional messages such as “love” and “hugs,” or customize them with something off-the-wall.
What You Need: marbles or rolled up balls of aluminum foil; cupcake batter; cupcake paper liners; frosting in various pastel colors; red writing icing or red icing in pastry bag with #3 round tip.
How to Make It: Place paper liners in cupcake (muffin) tins. Stick a marble or marble-sized ball of aluminum foil on one side of liner. Fill one-half to two-thirds full with batter (smaller cupcakes will turn out flatter, and look more like conversations hearts). After baking, be sure to let cool. Frost cupcakes in various pastel colors. Pipe words on top of each cupcake.