Coconut Bunny Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix white
• 16 oz vanilla frosting 
• 48 sticks xantham gum white green blue yellow (or other colors such as , , )
• 24 sticks xantham gum 
• 24  marshmallows white miniature ( or colors)
• 24  pink lady apples sweet mini ( chewy and tart candies)
• 1 tube decorating gel black
• 2.5 cups coconut sweetened flaked
• 1 drop food coloring green blue red yellow

Equipment

• bowl
• oven
• toothpicks
• muffin liners

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, using water, oil and egg. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, divide coconut among five small bowls, about 1/2 cup each.
4. Add 1 drop of red food color to one bowl and mix with a spoon. Finish mixing using your fingers to lift and gently rub coconut. Repeat for each color to make a bowl of yellow, blue, pink, green and white coconut.
5. Prepare ears by stacking two of the same color gum sticks on top of each other; trim into bunny ears using kitchen shears. For the center of each ear, cut a pink stick of gum in half lengthwise, trim about half an inch off of the end to trim into ear shape. Use a little frosting to “glue” the pink centers to the white gum ears.
6. To ensure that the coconut sticks to your frosting, frost one cupcake then immediately turn upside down, dipping top of the frosted cupcake into coconut. Repeat frosting and dipping for all cupcakes.
7. To add the bunny features, use a toothpick to create two slits in the top of the cupcake, then insert the ears into the slits.
8. Cut a miniature marshmallow in half.
9. Add a dot of frosting to the cut side of the marshmallows; press onto the front of the cupcake to create the paws. Gently press a pink candy on for nose; use black decorator gel to add the eyes.