DIY Bunny & Chick Cupcakes

Prepare cupcakes either from scratch or from a box mix. I used a box of yellow cake mix. Instead of baking the cupcakes in standard liners, I decided to use baking cups. Baking cups are narrower and taller than cupcake liners, and the thicker paper means that oils from the cupcakes do not bleed into the baking cups. They create a more polished look that's perfect for the bunnies and chicks. I got yellow baking cups for the chicks and pink ones for the bunnies.

Although I used a mix for the cupcakes, I made the frosting from scratch as homemade frosting will pipe better and maintain the height that's needed for the bunnies and chicks. You may already have a favorite icing recipe. Mine is to combine one stick of butter and one half cup of vegetable shortening, blending in a stand mixer on medium for 5 minutes. Gradually mix in 4 cups of sifted confectioner's sugar along with one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a half teaspoon of salt. Touch the frosting with your fingertip. If nothing sticks to your finger, add a teaspoon of water at a time until a little bit of frosting stays on your fingertip when you touch it.

Cut a hole at the tip of a piping bag and insert a large round piping tip. Scoop half the prepared frosting into the bag, which will be for the bunnies. We'll save the other half of the frosting for the chicks.

Twist the open end of the piping bag to seal it and squeeze the piping bag in a circular motion from the outside in to create a swirl.

Cut a large marshmallow diagonally with a pair of scissors.

Roll a ball of white fondant between your fingers to create a half-inch ball. You'll need two of these per bunny.

For the nose, you'll need a pink, round candy. I chose a pink Sixlet, but you can also use a jelly bean or something similar. Position the nose right above the cheeks, pressing it into the frosting.

Place two candy eyeballs above the nose, again pressing them into the frosting. If you can't find candy eyeballs, you can also use miniature chocolate chips.

Add a few drops of yellow gel icing color to the frosting you saved for the chick cupcakes. Stir with a spoon, and add more yellow coloring until your desired shade of yellow is reached.

Equip a piping bag with a large round piping tip. Fill the piping bag with the yellow frosting.

Chicks don't really have a crown like adult chickens do, but it's fun — and tasty — to add some orange sprinkles on top of the frosting to mimic one. If sprinkles tumble onto the body of the chick, that's fine. They add a nice pop of orange to all that yellow.

Trim two sides of an orange candy melt to create a triangular shape. Instead of candy melts, you can use other orange candies like Starburst.

Place two candy eyeballs above the beak.

While this step is optional, adding cute little feet to the chicken is the perfect finishing touch. First, cut some chicken feet shapes out of orange paper.