Easy Cupcakes

Turtles may move slowly, but these cupcakes are sure quick to make! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green frosting; 2 green sugar-coated fruit gel candies; 6 green M&Ms; black food-safe marker; scissors.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use food-safe marker to draw two dots on one gel candy for eyes and place near edge of cupcake. Use scissors to cut other gel into five triangular pieces, with one of the pieces being thinner for the tail. Arrange as pictured. Add M&Ms.

These bear cupcakes are super simple thanks to Nilla Wafers!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; 2 Nilla Wafers; 1 Junior Mint; 2 black or dark brown M&Ms; knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place Nilla wafer cookie toward bottom of cupcake for muzzle. Use dab of icing to adhere Junior Mint nose about 2/3 from bottom of cookie muzzle. Add M&M eyes. Cut another Nilla Wafer in half and place halves at top for ears.

These monkey cupcakes sport big ears, but they sure are tasty.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; Nilla wafer; blue M&Ms; food-safe pen; red writing icing; 1 Nutter Butter cookie; knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut Nutter Butter in half. Cut off 1/2 of Nilla wafer. Use food-safe pen to draw two nostrils near flat edge of Nilla wafer. Use red gel or writing icing to draw mouth and place on cupcake. Add M&M eyes. Add half of Nilla wafer to each side of face for ears.

Grab a star tip and make a field’s worth of these sweet sunflower cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow frosting (I used Pillsbury’s Spring frosting from a can); 3 brown M&Ms; candy spearmint leaf; scissors; pastry bag with coupler and star tip, or use tubed icing with tip.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use pastry bag or tube to make concentric rows of stars, working from the rim of the cupcake inward. As you pipe the stars, don’t stop squeezing as you pull away, so they form nice peaks. Leave small area not frosted in center of cupcake and add three M&Ms. Cut spearmint leaf in half or thirds (so it’s lighter and you can use it on two cupcakes) and place on edge of cupcake.

Grrreast for a jungle or zoo party, or any time you want to “stick your neck out” when making cupcakes, consider these fun giraffe cupcakes.

What You need: 1 cupcake; yellow frosting; 2 thin pretzel sticks, 2 puffy cereal pieces (such as Cocoa Puffs or Kix); 1 pink Necco wafer; thin black licorice or black writing icing; 2 mini chocolate M&Ms; food-safe pens. (Instead of pens, you can try writing icing.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use dab of icing to attach puffy cereal to tips of pretzels. (You may want to cut the pretzels to make them shorter.) Let dry for a bit. Use food-safe pen to draw nostrils and mouth on Necco wafer. Arrange 6 licorice strands (or draw 6 lines with writing icing) for stripes and place wafer on top of them. Add M&M eyes. Insert pretzel horns.

Use candies of various shapes and sizes to make dragonfly, butterfly and bug cupcakes. Go with pastels or bright colors, but whatever you do, have fun!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green frosting; assorted candies such as jellybeans, Jordan almonds and candy-covered mints; food-safe pens.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange candies on top. For dragonfly shown, make row of three pink jellybeans and position yellow Jordan almonds on each side for wings. Draw 2 black “eyes” on round candy and add for face.

No piping or fancy stuff is needed for this hoppin’ good frog cupcakes!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green icing; red string licorice; 2 green sugar-coated fruit gels 2 red M&Ms (mini or regular).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add green fruit gels near top of cupcake. Use dabs of icing to stick M&Ms to fruit gels. Add bit of licorice in smile shape.