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.

Mini cupcakes that are frosted and sprinkled with pale yellow coconut flakes. They are decorated to look like chicks with two mini brown M&Ms for eyes and a small beak made out of an orange Starburst candy.