Frosted Animal Cookie Gender Reveal Cupcakes

I have been dying to make gender reveal cupcakes and last week I got the chance to make some for one of Tim's coworkers.  The jist is that you gather friends or family and everyone chooses a cupcake decorated like the gender they believe the baby is.  (Pink or blue).  The cupcakes are filled with pink or blue frosting which reveals the gender the baby actually is once you bite into it. 

This baby was a girl so I got to play with pink frosting which was SO fun for me.

I loved how the animal cookie toppers turned out.  They would be cute for a baby shower even if you don't put them on cupcakes, or you could make them in holiday colors for Halloween or Christmas.

Frosted Animal Cookie Gender Reveal Cupcakes

For these cupcakes I made a Betty Crocker golden vanilla box mix I'd doctored up a bit using this method.

For the filling I used cream cheese frosting tinted neon pink. (Use a cupcake corer to make a hole in the center of each baked cupcake and fill with the tinted frosting.  It is easiest if you pipe it in using a pastry bag).

I then swirled on a chocolate cream cheese frosting (Oreo's omitted) and topped with alternating colors of frosted animal cookies.


For the Frosted Animal Cookies:

-1 box animal crackers  (If you live by a Winco, the Hytop brand is great.  They taste pretty good and they are really detailed.)
-White candy melts or almond bark
-pink and blue candy coloring (You can find this at Hobby Lobby.  Do not use regular food coloring.)
-rainbow colored non-pareil sprinkles

Divide candy melts or bark between two bowls and microwave one at a time at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.  Tint with candy food coloring.

Use a dipping fork to dip each cracker completely into melted coating.  Pull straight up out of bowl and tap the fork gently on the edge to remove excess chocolate so it doesn't pool.  Place on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with non-pareils.  Repeat for each cracker.  Allow crackers to set completely before placing on cupcakes.