Here is anther cupcake I did with my daughter when she loved the show Wonder Pets.  This is Ming Ming the duck.

This recipe was also from Nick Jr com.  And no it’s not as hard as it looks.  If I can do it, anyone can. And there is lots for kids to do to help.  I put my daughter in charges of unwrapping the Tootsie rolls and the Starbursts. 

Then she had to go through all the M & M’s and take out the brown ones.  She was happy, because she got to eat all the other colors.

Then she had to unroll the fruit roll ups.  She was a very good helper.  She was three years old at the time.

Ming-Ming Cupcakes

36 chocolate taffy candies (such as Tootsie Rolls®)
1 roll green apple taffy (such as Fruit by the Foot®)
24 pink taffy candies (such as Starburst®)
48 brown candy-coated sunflower seeds or mini candies (such as mini M&M’s®)
48 brown candy-coated chocolates (such as M&M’s®)
Toothpicks
2 plastic resealable bags
Ming-Ming Hat template

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions and divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake pans. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 21 minutes. Transfer the cupcake pans to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Invert the cupcakes and cool completely.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of vanilla frosting into a resealable bag and set it aside. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting pale yellow. Spoon 1/2 cup of the yellow frosting into a resealable bag. Cover the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining yellow frosting.

Cut 12 of the chocolate taffies in half lengthwise. Soften them in the microwave for several seconds and roll them out flat. Use the hat templates to cut out Ming-Ming’s aviator hat. Arrange the two side flaps on each cupcake, and then place the top piece. Add the green apple taffy (soften in the microwave for a few seconds) to the bottom of the cupcake to make Ming-Ming’s scarf. Snip a small corner from the bag of yellow frosting and pipe a few feathers over the scarf.

Heat the pink taffy in the microwave for a few seconds to soften. Shape them into the beaks. Use a toothpick to make the nostrils. Press the beaks into the center of the cupcakes. Add the small brown candies to make the eyes. Snip a very small corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe white dots on the eyes. Pipe frosting dots on the hat and add the larger chocolate candies to make Ming-Ming’s goggles.

I didn’t find any green fruit roll up, so I used strawberry flavored.  I didn’t find any chocolate covered sunflower seeds, so I used raisins.  I also couldn’t get the nose to look like the one on the Nick Jr. website, but all in all , I was pretty impressed with myself and my daughter was delighted.

Gotta love that cheesy smile and the yellow frosting on her face.