Chick cupcakes

These were supposed to be ducks, but according to my husband and just about everyone else I asked, they look more like baby chicks.  I suppose I could pout about it, but I’ve decided to just embrace them for what they are…so here are my baby-shoulda-been-a-duck cupcake toppers. Say that three times fast.
I’m not even going to pretend to try to talk to you about cake baking.  I used the lemonade cake recipe from the latest issue Better Homes and Gardens for these cupcakes.  When it comes to cake, listen to ANYONE but me.  The recipe made a nice thick batter which is great for making perfectly uniform cupcakes.  Same for the frosting.  Straight out of the magazine.  Buy it.
Now to my area of expertise, cookies.

To make these cookies you will need:

• Stiff yellow piping icing with a #233 piping tip
• Yellow 20-second icing
• Black sugar pearls
• Orange 20-second icing

I used quarter sized round cookies to make these toppers.  Begin by laying out the cookies, with plenty of space between.  To keep them from sliding around as you work, use a dot of yellow piping icing to “glue” them to the parchment.
Once they have adhered to the parchment, use the grass tip to add a little pouf of hair to the top of the chick.  For more explanation on this technique, click HERE.
After adding the top feathers, use 20-second icing to flood the face.
Quickly add candy bead eyes.  Let the cookie dry for a bit, and add a beak.
In the meantime, use a large tip {I think mine was a 1A} to create a swirl on the cupcake.  Once again, don’t take my word on this.  For a little in depth info on perfect cupcake swirls, head on over to Glorious Treats.
Stick the cookie toppers onto the icing, and you’re done!
Cute, even if they didn’t work out quite like I planned.  For future reference, if you want duck-looking ducklings, I would use a mini-skull cutter rather than a round and give it a way wider beak.
If you’re in the mood for even more cuteness, head on over to My Candy Crafts to see how easy it is to turn ordinary gumballs into adorable duckies chicks.
  http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2012/04/cute-little-chick-cupcakes/