Piggy Birthday Cupcakes

So I get emails from Parenting.com. I was going through birthday cake ideas and when I saw this idea...I immediately knew that I would make it for my mother-in-law for her birthday! And I was determined to completely blindside her with 'em. She has two piggies at home...Gunther & Faith. Most women joke about being a crazy cat lady one day...Mom is going to be a crazy pig lady :]

However in my excitement, I forgot to write down exactly what I needed. So my concoction varies from the original recipe.


(Print)
What you need:

• 24 cupcakes baked in brown paper liners (I did French Vanilla cake in pink liners)
• 1 can (16 oz.) vanilla frosting
• Red food coloring (I did strawberry frosting to bypass the food coloring step because I'm lazy and sometimes food coloring affects the taste of the frosting)
• 1 tube (4.25 oz.) black decorating icing (I didn't have this and I wish I had! But they still turned out cute!)
• 24 large pink marshmallows
• 48 chocolate chips (since I didn't have the icing, I used both regular and mini chocolate chips)
• 5 tbsp. pink decorating sugar (I had red)
• Scissors...clean ones.

Directions:

Prepare cupcakes according to directions on pkg. Don't overfill batter in the liners or you will end up with some wonky pigs. Or extra work lopping off the tops of cupcakes. Let cool and frost the cupcakes!

Cut 1/4-inch slice from each marshmallow, crosswise.

Dip sticky side of thin slice into decorating sugar.

Then cut in half.

If you use mini chocolate chips, stick in sticky end of the big slice of marshmallow for nostrils. If you use icing, ignore this.

Press 2 sugared marshmallows into opposite edges of the cupcake for ears.

Fit snout onto the cupcake :]

Take 2 regular size chocolate chips and place point down into cupcake as eyes.

Awe! Isn't it cute :] If you use the black frosting, pipe a mouth and nostrils on the cupcake and snout marshmallow.

You can give them extra character by putting the snout off center.

:D