Easy Cupcakes

Sometimes, simplest is best. Especially when there’s a last-minute call for cupcakes for the school St. Patrick’s Day party, or for the after-work party where everyone’s bound to be a little tipsy anyway. These green jellybean cupcakes add sparkle without taking much time. The St. Pat’s liners are a nice touch, and available from Wilton.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green icing (I used Pillsbury’s holiday frosting); green sugar or sprinkles; green jellybeans (or go smaller with Jelly Bellys).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with or dip in green sugar. Add jelly beans.

These cute bear cupcakes would be great for a baby shower, fairy tale themed birthday party or any Goldilocks who loves cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; white or vanilla frosting; pink icing (in a tube or in a pastry bag with #1 metal tip and coupler); candy eyes or small candies; pastry bag and #5 metal tip.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Using pastry bag and #5 metal tip, pipe bears: make two faces larger than the third baby bear face and add smaller circles for ears. Add eyes. Use #1 tip and pink icing (or icing in a tube) for nose and mouth.

Make an entire pig body on a cupcake using just one metal tip! (Or, if you want to take it a step further, use a ribbon-type tip to make pointier ears). These pink pig cupcakes are perfect for a farm themed party or anytime!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; pink frosting; black gel or writing icing; candy eyes (or small candies such as mini M&Ms); pastry bag fitted with coupler and #5 metal tip.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. With pink icing, pipe pig body, arms, legs and head. Pipe smaller “blob” of icing on top of head for snot. Add ears, pulling away to form points. Use black icing for nostrils. Add eyes.

Jazz up simple cupcakes by adding Valentine’s Day sprinkles to coconut! The combination makes for an attractive cupcake with taste and texture.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; pink frosting (I used Pillsbury’s canned Valentine’s Day frosting and it came with sprinkles in the lid); shredded coconut.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with coconut. Add Valentine sprinkles.

These conversation heart cupcakes are incredibly fast to make, and depending on which heart messages you choose, can be customized for kids, sweethearts or anyone on Valentine’s Day!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; pink frosting; 3 conversation hearts; chocolate icing in a tube, or use a pasty bag and metal tip #1.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange 3 hearts near top of cupcake. Use chocolate icing to “draw” balloon strings.

Consider “going chocolate” with your Valentine’s Day cupcakes. Add a sweet message, too!

What You Need: Chocolate icing; assorted Valentine’s Day themed sprinkles; pastry bag with No. 3 metal tip (or use chocolate icing in bag or tube).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add sprinkles. Pipe X and O (or message of your choice) on top of cupcake–right on top of the sprinkles.

Make these cute pink bear cupcakes for a Valentine’s Day party at your kid’s school, or for your sweetheart.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; frosting tinted pink (or just use Pillsbury’s Valentine frosting like I did); chocolate frosting (or black writing icing in a tube); 2 heart-shaped cinnamon candies; pastry bag and coupler; No. 12 metal tip; No. 5 metal tip; No. 1 metal tip. (No. 1 is for the eyes, nose and mouth.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Fit pastry bag with coupler and No. 12 metal tip and fill partway with pink icing. Squeeze in one spot near center of cupcake (don’t pull up) for bear head. Switch to No. 5 tip. Squeeze to create bear’s muzzle and ears. Use pastry bag and No. 1 tip to add features using chocolate icing. Add 2 heart-shaped red hots, points touching, for bow. For a girl bear, add a bow to her “hair.”