Easy Cupcakes

These cupcakes are inspired by the latest Betty Crocker Supermoist publication. You can make the sand out of crushed-up graham crackers or just use brown sugar.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted blue; Lifesaver candy; Teddy Graham bear; paper umbrella; graham crackers or brown sugar. (If you use brown sugar, serve the cupcakes right away or the sugar may start dissolving into the frosting.)
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. sprinkle graham cracker crumbs or brown sugar at one edge for “sand.” Cut legs off bear (ouch!) and use a dab of frosting to stick into Lifesaver. Add paper umbrella.

There are plenty of ways to make cute pig cupcakes. Don’t squeal if you don’t have the exact same candies we used. Just have fun with it!
What You Need: 1 cupcake; icing tinted pink or mauve; 2 pink heart candies; 1 pink Jordan almond; 2 blue mini M&Ms; white writing icing.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place hearts, upside down, at top for ears. Add almond nose. Use white writing icing or gel to make pig nose nostrils.

Silly rabbit. What’s with those teeth? They’re Tic-Tac mints! Have fun making these easy bunnies for Easter.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; regular-size marshmallow; pink sugar; 2 chocolate chips; pink jelly bean; 2 white Tic-Tacs; scissors or kitchen shears; pastry bag and No. 4 or 5 round metal tip or tube icing and round tip (this step is optional.)
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut marshmallow in half widthwise and sprinkle each half with pink sugar and place on cupcake for ears. If you’d like and have the gear, pipe (squeeze while holding tip in same place, stop squeezing and pull away) white icing in two mounds for bunny cheeks. Add chocolate chip eyes, jelly bean nose and Tic Tac teeth.

Get hopping for Leap Day or any day with these fun frog cupcakes that use marshmallows for buggy eyes.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; icing tinted green; 1 marshmallow; black gel or writing icing; red licorice; scissors.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use kitchen shears or floured scissors to cut marshmallow in half widthwide Use black to make 2 eyeball dots on the not-sticky end of the marshmallow halves. Set eyeballs on cupcake. Add red licorice mouth.

It only comes around every four years: It’s Leap Day, February 29th, and 2008 is the year for it. If you’re reading this later, you don’t have to wait until the next leap year in 2012 to enjoy these fun frog cupcakes. They’re hoppin’ good for any occasion.
What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; green fondant; circle cutter; gummy frog; candy flower (or piped icing flower).
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Roll out fondant (see our cupcakes and fondant page for tips) and cut out circle. Then cut triangle-shaped notch out of circle so it looks like a lilypad. Use dabs of icing to stick gummy frog and flower to lily pad.

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house we were making mouse cupcakes. And it was easy.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); chocolate frosting; 2 black Necco wafers; 2 red hots (cinnamon imperials); red licorice strings; red gumdrop.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Stick lengths of red licorice into cupcake for mouse whiskers and tail. Insert 2 Necco wafers at an angle for ears. Add gumdrop nose and red hot eyes.

Buy a plastic deer from a cake decorating shop or just score one from the toy store’s plastic animal aisle.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white icing; marshmallow tree; plastic deer.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. You can use a decorating bag and tip or a plain old knife to make snowdrifts. Place marshmallow tree and plastic deer and you’re done!