Easy Cupcakes

There’s a whole flock of potential uses for these baby chick cupcakes: “chick flick” night, Easter, a farm party–the list goes on and on.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted yellow; 1 candy corn; 2 candy eyes (or use M&Ms or piping gel).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add candy eyes and candy corn for beak. That’s it!

This lion looks a little goofy but kids will love sticking in the pieces of the licorice mane.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted yellow; red licorice strings (the stiff kind); 2 Cherrios or other O-shaped cereal; 2 blue mini M&Ms; red candy such as Runts; red writing icing or gel in tube, pastry bag or sandwich bag with tip cut off; scissors.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place candy in center for nose. Add blue eyes (with Ms facing down). Draw red mouth using writing icing or gel. Cut licorice in various lengths and poke around edges of cupcake for mane. Add 2 Cheerios for ears.

Want to make cupcakes for Fourth of July, Election Day or the Barack Obama or John McCain running mate announcement? Keep it simple with these quick cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; blue fine sugar; red coarse sugar; red star-shaped confetti; red hot cinnamon imperials candies. (Vary as desired, based on what you have on hand.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with blue sugar and then a little red sugar. Add star to center and red hots around the perimeter.

Whether you’re planning a farm themed party or just pigging out, these cupcakes will keep you in the pink.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted pink; 4 candy-coated licorice pieces (such as Good & Plenty); 2 brown mini M&Ms; circle-shaped fruit roll (such as Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups Stackerz); black writing icing or gel in tube.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake pink. Arrange licorice pieces in 2 triangle shapes for ears. Add M&M eyes. Make 2 nostrils on fruit circle using black writing icing. Place on cupcake for nose.

What could be easier than arranging candy corn around a candy raspberry? (The hardest part might be finding the candies, but you can always substitute! Use another seasonal color of candy corn and put a gumdrop in the center instead.)

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 6 pink candy corns (sold around Valentine’s Day and in candy shops); gummi red raspberry candy.

How to Make It: Place raspberry candy in center of cupcake. Surround with candy corn with the pointy ends pointing inward to form a flower shape.

It was my 3-year-old’s idea to add a licorice stinger to this bee cupcake.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted yellow; black writing icing or gel; round mint cookie (or similar dark cookie); Jordan almond (or gumdrop or other candy); bit of black string licorice.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use black writing icing and round tip to pipe 3 or 4 stripes on bee body. Cut cookie in half and place in frosting to make wings. Add bit of black licorice for stinger. Pipe 2 black eyes on almond and place on cupcake for head.

Whether you’re gearing up for the presidential election, celebrating the Fourth of July or just feeling patriotic, these cupcakes are quick and easy, with no pastry bags or “piping” necessary.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; large blue star sprinkles (Wilton makes some); thin red licorice strings; kitchen shears, scissors or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut licorice as shown and arrange in stripes. Add 3 or more star sprinkles. That’s it!