Cute Quackery Cupcakes!

As a kindergarten teacher I had to pick a theme for my classroom. My first option of pandas was already taken by the team leader (who had so many panda related things for her room it was almost overwhelming). I didn't have much time to decide on one and thank goodness my Mom had come up to help me or I might have just ended up picking a random animal for my theme. She suggested ducks and I was sold.

I have been a rubber ducky fan since my early college years. My alma mater has one day a year during homecoming week where the students are permitted to swim in the reflection pond. My junior year I managed to snag one of the homecoming themed rubber ducks. That first one was placed in my car and I was officially a sucker for cutesy rubber duckies.

He looks a little worse for wear but is now living with ALL of my other duckies in my office.

So back to the kindergarten class.  Each afternoon the kids were given snack, mostly pre-packaged things that the parents provided.  Every once and a while I would bring in snack to not only give the parents a break but to bring in something extra special for the kids.  A friend of mine made these duck shaped cupcakes for a friends baby shower and I just could not resist making them for my kids (I do have to give my boyfriend credit for helping me too)!

What you need:
Donut holes
Cupcake mix
Icing
Food Coloring (I used yellow)
Large Marshmallows
Candy Corn
Mini Chocolate Chips


What you need to do:
~ Make the cupcakes.
~ Cut the marshmallows in half at a diagonal.
~ Put a little bit of icing on two places on opposite sides of the cupcake.
~ Place the donut hole to represent the head on one side and the flat side of the marshmallow to represent the tail on the other (Sorry I don't have a picture).
~ Place the cupcakes in the freezer so that the icing really holds the donut and the marshmallow.
~ Take the icing and heat it so that the icing becomes slightly liquidy.
~ Add in the food coloring to get the icing to be the color yellow (or whatever else) you desire and mix it in well.
~ Place the icing in a container large enough to dunk the cupcakes upside down.
~ Dunk each cupcake and allow for the extra icing to drip off of it before placing back in the freezer to solidify (I think that they could also be put in the fridge but that may allow it to drip more).
~ Once the icing is solid the extras can be added!  Using the mini chocolate chips the eyes can be added and the candy corn to be the bill.

My duckies cooling in the fridge.  You can see the one hiding in the back with it's bill on. :)

~ Leave the ducks in the fridge until right before serving (if these are to be presented and eaten outside) so that the icing does not become too hot and start melting (I had to do this as my classroom was always like a million and one degrees).


I had a little trouble getting the bills to stay on, so I waited to add them right before the kids came in before snack time.  They knew that I was the one providing snack that day but had NO idea this is what they were going to be getting!  They LOVED them and I think they even asked me to make them again some other day.

Enjoy!!