Easter Basket Cupcakes

My birthday falls very close to Easter, and one year my Mom made these cute cupcakes for me to bring school.  I have loved making them ever since.  They look so great and are so easy! You can also take a lot of shortcuts to make them even easier.  Like using canned incing, and making the cupcakes from a box mix.  I love to use fun-fetti!

Easter Basket Cupcakes

 Ingredients:
24 cupcakes
Icing dyed green
Jelly Beans
Shredded coconut
Pipe cleaners
Ribbon (optional)

Directions:
1. Color the coconut green (much easier than it seems).  Put coconut in a large Ziploc bag with a few drops of green food coloring, and shake, shake, shake.  You can add more color, and shake until you get the desired shade of green.
2.   Make your green buttercream, or if you are using canned icing color it green.  Anytime I used canned icing (which is rare these days), I like to whip it a little bit anyway.  It makes it easier to spread, and easier to color.
3.  Ice the cupcakes and sprinkle green coconut over the top.
4.  Put a little icing into a small Ziploc, and pipe a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake to stick the jellybeans to.  (I don't use the green or black ones).
5.  Depending on the size of your pipe cleaners you may have to cut them down a couple inches.  If you want to use ribbon I suggest tying it on before you stick the pipe cleaners in the cupcakes.
6.  Bend and stick the pipe cleaners in the cupcakes.  Make sure to bend the pipe cleaners enough and place deep enough that it does not tear apart the cupcake.
7.  Enjoy!