Easy Cupcakes

Shredded Wheat is the straw on these fun scarecrow cupcakes that are made using only candies and cereal — no fancy piping or icing in tubes!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow frosting; chocolate (or black) Twizzler; shredded wheat (I used spoon-size); 2 black or brown M&Ms; orange chocolate covered sunflower seed (or substitute mini M&M turned sideways); black shoelace licorice; scissors or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Break apart shredded wheat and sprinkle or place at top and bottom for straw. Cut Twizzler into one length almost as wide as the cupcake and another length slightly shorter. Assemble as shown for hat. Place candy eyes, nose and mouth.

I saw in a magazine where someone had used one of those waffle-looking pretzels as a scarecrow’s hat and just had to try it. The hair is crumbled-up shredded wheat. Great for Halloween or fall parties.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 1 square pretzel; spoon-size shredded wheat; 2 orange jellybeans (or M&Ms or other oval or round candy); red mini M&M or red hot or similar candy; 4 chocolate chips or 7-8 mini chocolate chips; black writing icing (optional).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Stick pretzel into top of cupcake for hat. Crumble up shredded wheat and place under “hat” for hair. Add jellybean eyes, red candy nose and curve of upside-down chocolate chips for mouth. Add pupils to eyes using black writing icing if you’d like.

These cupcakes have the best of both worlds: cake and ice cream cones. Use your imagination on the scarecrow’s face as well as the cone “hat.” Shredded wheat cereal is the hay!

What You Need: 1 cupcake, baked and cooled; cream-colored icing; ice cream cone (“cake” style, with or without chocolate dip); red fruit roll; shredded wheat cereal; candy corn; red and blue M&Ms; red writing icing or gel.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake and immediately sprinkle crunched-up shredded wheat on top one-third for scarecrow hay. Wrap fruit roll (we used “Fruit by the Foot”) around ice cream cone and tie in knot. Position hat toward top of cupcake, shoving it in a bit so it stays put. Make face as shown with blue M&Ms for eyes, red mouth with red M&M cheeks and candy corn nose.