Last winter when Kate posted her darling Candy Penguin Cupcakes, my favorite part were the cute little beaks. I started thinking about what other sorts of animals you could make with beaks like that (not that there are tons of choices) and remembered doing these cute little chickies when I was a kid. I sort of have a love-hate relationship with fancy cupcakes. They’re so fun to look at, but some of them are SO labor intensive that when you’re all finished creating your little pieces of art it almost hurts to see people bite into them. So I LOVE projects like these Spring Chick Cupcakes that literally take an extra 2 minutes of your time, but look totally adorable.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Cupcakes – Store bought, from a box, or homemade. This recipe will make enough toppings for 12 standard sized cupcakes, but is very flexible for more or less, mini vs. standard size, etc.
- Frosting – Store bought or home made. We love this Buttercream Frosting.
- Shredded coconut – Like you find on the baking aisle. Sweetened or unsweetened will work.
- Yellow food coloring – This is used to tint the coconut. I like adding just a little to the frosting to make it a nice pale yellow as well!
- Mini M&Ms – For the eyes. I like to just grab a tube of mini M&M’s, but you can find them in larger bags on the candy aisle or sometimes by the chocolate chips as well. Chocolate chips would also work.
- Orange Starburst candy – Or other pliable orange candies, like orange Tootsie rolls. The bulk bins at Winco make it easy to grab a few of what you need without getting all of the other flavors. For Starbursts, you can get about 6 beaks per candy.
How to Make Spring Chick Cupcakes
- Mix up some coconut flakes with a few drops of yellow food coloring. It may look weird at first, but keep stirring and eventually the color will be evenly distributed.
- Cut your orange candy into small pieces and mold each piece into a triangle.
- If desired, tint your frosting with yellow food coloring. Frost your cupcakes and cover with coconut.
- Place two M&M’s on for eyes and add a candy beak.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished cupcakes at room temperature, tightly covered, and enjoy in 2-3 days for best results.
- These make darling mini cupcakes, too! Use mini M&M’s or mini chocolate chips for eyes.
{Easy} Spring Chick Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 12 cupcakes
- frosting of your choice we love this one
- ¾ cup shredded coconut
- 2-3 drops yellow food coloring
- mini M&M’s
- orange starburst tootsie rolls, or other soft moldable candy
Instructions
- Mix coconut and food coloring with a fork until color is evenly distributed.
- Cut orange candy into small pieces and mold into beak shapes.
- Frost cupcakes (tint frosting yellow if desired) and cover with coconut. Place 2 M&M's on for eyes and a candy beak.
Notes
- Store finished cupcakes at room temperature, tightly covered, and enjoy in 2-3 days for best results.
- These make darling mini cupcakes, too! Use mini M&M’s or mini chocolate chips for eyes.
Questions & Reviews
I made these too. Found them on the Betty Crocker website. I like your idea of starbursts or orange tootsie rolls better. I used Gummy Orange slices!
I’m thinking you could maybe just use 3 orange m&m’s for the beak and just make a triangle with them..not sure
I made these are they were cute and yummy. I would recommend, however, if you’re going to make them ahead of time, save the beaks for the day of. Mine got soggy and slimy.
I made these last night for YW this evening. I couldn’t find Mini M&Ms (no idea why – probably because I was *looking* for them), so I used mini chocolate chips instead. And I decided to cut candy orange slices instead of Starburst or Tootsie Rolls for the beaks. They came out so cute! My husband couldn’t resist helping me with them – that’s how cute they are! Thanks, ladies, for such an adorable and easy recipe!
My granddaughter and I made these today. So fun to have a food craft that is easy…even for an 8 year old. Now I love your website and I’ll be back.
I made these for my son’s class this morning. (They were doing a project where they had to take care of, and design a house for a little puff chicken, and I made these for presentation day.) They turned out amazing! Thank you so much!! The kids all loved them. I made a few with just the lightly tinted yellow frosting and no coconut, and while not as cute, they actually still looked like chicks.
We made these for FHE, adorable. I am a sucker for chicks, so these were screaming my name when I saw them. Thanks for a simple and fun idea!!
These are way cute. Hopefully I’m not just being blind, but I can’t find the search bar on your site anymore, do you still have it and where is it at?
Thanks!
Search is the second tab on the pink bar on the top right. Connect is first then the next tab is search.
I was just about to buy another cookbook for my sister, but can’t seem to find it on Amazon.com is it still offered on the site, or is it just sold out?
My 6 yo was with me when I saw this yesterday, and since he was in charge of the treat for FHE, we had these last night. They are very cute and very easy (easy is an FHE requirement for me!!). Thanks!