Easy Cupcakes

This big-eyed owl cupcakes are a hoot (sorry!) on Halloween or anytime.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 2 white fruit gels; 2 brown or black M&Ms; 1 banana candy (such as Runts).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange gels side-by-side. Use dab of icing to attach one M&M to each gel. Stick banana nose in center.

Three bluebirds await their mama bird in a nest on this cupcake, which features toasted coconut.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted green; toasted coconut; 3 pastel blue M&Ms; food-safe markers.

How to Make It: Toast coconut for 5-10 minutes in 350-degree oven. Let cool. Frost cupcake green. Sprinkle center with coconut for nest. Use food-safe markers to draw eyes and beak on each M&M. Arrange birds in nest.

No, not cupcakes made with chicken. A cupcake of a chicken. Enjoy them at a farm-themed party or anytime.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; 2 red Swedish fish; 2 black (or brown, or blue) M&Ms; candied orange slice; kitchen shears or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut tails and heads off Swedish fish (it won’t hurt them). Stick head into frosting at center top of head and put the tails, which are smaller, on either side. Cut triangle shape from orange candy for beak and place near center of cupcake. Place M&Ms, upside down, directly above beak.

Add some texture to your baby chick cupcakes this Easter with shredded coconut! These cupcakes would also be fun at a party with a farm theme.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted yellow; shredded coconut; yellow dye (liquid or paste); orange candy fruit wedge; 2 brown, black or blue M&Ms; 3 red jellybeans; scissors or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Put coconut in a bowl, add yellow dye and mix well. Sprinkle on cupcake for feathers. Arrange 3 red jellybeans at top of head. Cut triangle shape from candy fruit and place on top as beak. Add M&M eyes.

Planning a rubber duck themed baby shower? Place candy ducks in the center of a frosted cupcake and surround the cupcake with stars, made simple with icing in a tube or aerosol can.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; candy rubber ducks (I get mine from Kake Kreations in Canoga Park, California, which also offers mail order); orange icing in a tube or aerosol can; star tip. I also used ducky cupcake liners from Wilton.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use tubed icing and star tip to pipe stars all around the cupcake. Place cupcake in center. Of course, you can make baby shower cupcakes in any color or to match other candy designs.

Cute yet slightly spooky, these brown owls are a “hoot” (sorry!) for Halloween parties. Just pop on a few candies and you’re done!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 2 yellowish LifeSavers (banana, lemon or butterrum work well); 2 red hot candies (aka cinnamon imperials); candy corn (with yellow or brown ends; regular size or wide candy corn).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place 2 LifeSavers for eyes and use dab of icing to stick red hot in center of each. Add candy corn nose.

Let these penguin cupcakes coming marching onto your Christmas dessert table, or any time of year, perhaps at a Happy Feet or Surf’s Up party?

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); icing tinted light blue; 2 thin mint cookies (we used Necco); 2 Tic Tac mints; bit of orange fruit roll; white icing.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake blue. Using knife, cut 2 thin mints in half. (You’ll have an extra half, and we say just eat it. Or make more penguins.) Arrange one half horizontally for head and the other two, splayed out, for wings. Cut bit of fruit roll into triangle for beak. Add 2 Tic Tacs for feet. For eyes, you can use a decorating bag and tip 1, 2 or 3 to pipe eyes, or just wing it and dap them on with a knife.