🐰 The Cutest Easter Treat You Will Ever Make
If you are looking for Easter baking ideas that are fun, adorable, and actually achievable at home, these Low-Sugar Bunny Butt Cupcakes are exactly what you need. Fluffy low-sugar cupcakes topped with green buttercream grass, white chocolate dipped bunny feet cookies, and a little marshmallow tail poking up from the frosting. They are almost too cute to eat. Almost.
These are a fantastic Easter baking project for kids and adults alike. The components can mostly be made the night before, which makes them one of the most practical make-ahead Easter desserts in our collection. And because we use SPLENDA Granulated Sweetener in place of most of the sugar, each cupcake comes in at just 20 grams of carbs without sacrificing any of that golden, buttery flavor.
What makes these Easter cupcakes special: Every element is handmade and customizable, the low-sugar swap is completely seamless in terms of taste, and the finished result looks like it came from a professional bakery. They are the kind of Easter treat that gets photographed before anyone takes a bite.
🐣 Quick Stats: About 4 hrs total (including baking, cooling, decorating) | Makes 18 cupcakes | Components can be made the night before | Only 20g carbs per cupcake
The finished bunny butt cupcakes: green buttercream grass, white chocolate bunny feet, and a fluffy marshmallow tail. Almost too cute to eat.
🌱 Why You Will Love These Easter Cupcakes
Easter dessert ideas tend to fall into two camps: the ones that look impressive but take forever, and the ones that are easy but forgettable. These bunny butt cupcakes land squarely in the best possible middle ground. Each component is simple on its own, and when they come together the result is genuinely showstopping.
Using SPLENDA Granulated Sweetener instead of regular sugar saves 678 calories per cup in the recipe without changing the texture or flavor. It measures cup for cup like real sugar, stays sweet at high temperatures, and works beautifully in baked goods. If you are looking for low-sugar Easter desserts that do not taste like a compromise, this is your recipe.
🐇 Perfect For:
- Easter Sunday dessert as a fun alternative to a traditional cake
- Easter baking with kids since every step is hands-on and kid-friendly
- Spring birthday parties and baby showers with a garden theme
- Easter basket treats that are lower in sugar than store-bought candy
- Teacher and neighbor gifts that package beautifully in a standard cupcake box
- Easter brunch alongside the main course glazed ham for a complete celebration spread
🧁 The Four Components You Need
Think of this as an Easter baking project with four distinct parts. Each one is simple, and most can be prepared the night before so assembly day is stress-free.
🐾 1. The Bunny Feet Cookies — small oval no-sugar sugar cookies dipped in white chocolate with pink bunny toe details piped on top
🐰 2. The Bunny Tails — mini marshmallows rolled in white nonpareil sprinkles or shredded coconut for a fluffy, realistic look
🧁 3. The Low-Sugar Cupcakes — golden yellow cupcakes made with SPLENDA, tender and buttery with just a fraction of the sugar
🌿 4. The Buttercream — green grass icing piped around the edges and white icing in the center to form the bunny body
Get everything measured and set up before you start. Most of the components can be made the night before so Easter day assembly is quick and easy.
🐾 Step 1: Make the Bunny Feet Cookies
The bunny feet are made from our no-sugar sugar cookie recipe, cut into small oval shapes using a 1 1/4 inch oval cookie cutter. These can absolutely be made the night before and stored in an airtight container once the chocolate has fully set.
1. Bake the no-sugar sugar cookie dough rolled to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a small oval cutter and bake 10 to 12 minutes. Keep them pale and blonde with no browning. Cool completely before dipping.
2. Melt white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each. Thin with a small amount of coconut oil for a smooth dipping consistency. Dip each cookie and transfer to a parchment-lined tray. Focus on getting the top side smooth since the back will not be visible. Allow to harden fully.
3. For the pink toe details, melt a small amount of white chocolate and mix in a few drops of pink food coloring until no streaks remain. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe 3 or 4 dots for toes and a small heart shape for the main pad on each cookie.
4. Allow the pink details to dry completely before assembling. You will need 36 feet total for 18 cupcakes.
🍫 Chocolate Tip:
Candy melts are a great alternative to white chocolate and come in many colors, so you can get creative with the bunny feet design. For brown bunnies use milk or dark chocolate instead. Find candy melts at craft stores, baking supply shops, or online.
Keep the bunny feet cookies pale and blonde with no browning. Any color will show through the white chocolate dip and affect the finished look.
🐰 Step 2: Make the Bunny Tails
The tails are the easiest part and genuinely one of the most charming details on the finished cupcake. Cut mini marshmallows in half crosswise. Using a toothpick dipped in warm water, roll the sticky cut side of each marshmallow half into a small bowl of white nonpareil sprinkles. Lay flat on parchment paper to dry.
🐇 Fluffy Tail Variation:
For an extra fluffy, realistic bunny tail, dip the marshmallow halves in melted white chocolate first, then roll in shredded coconut before it sets. The coconut gives a beautifully textured fur effect that looks incredible against the green grass icing.
Everything you need for the tails and toe details: mini marshmallows, white nonpareil sprinkles, melted white chocolate, and pink food coloring. Simple ingredients, big impact.
🧁 Step 3: Bake the Low-Sugar Yellow Cupcakes
This golden yellow cupcake base is tender, buttery, and completely convincing as a full-sugar cupcake. The secret is using a combination of SPLENDA Granulated Sweetener and just a small amount of real sugar, which gives you the flavor and browning of sugar with a fraction of the carbohydrates. Recipe adapted from Splenda.com.
💡 Why SPLENDA Works So Well Here:
Swapping regular sugar for SPLENDA Granulated Sweetener saves 678 calories per cup in baked goods. It measures cup for cup like sugar, stays sweet at high baking temperatures, and produces a genuinely tender, golden crumb. The small amount of real sugar kept in the recipe helps with browning and moisture without significantly impacting the carb count.
Divide the batter evenly across all 18 cups. These bake in just 12 to 15 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when they are done.
🌿 Step 4: Pipe the Grass and Bunny Body
This is the most fun part of the whole Easter baking project. You will need two piping bags, a grass decorating tip for the green icing (Wilton 233, 234, or 29 all work beautifully), and a wide round tip or simply a snipped bag for the white bunny body.
Piping the green grass: Tint half your buttercream with green food coloring and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a grass tip. Pipe around the outer edge of the cupcake, leaving the center third empty. That open space is where the bunny body will sit. Hold the bag straight up for neat upright grass, or tilt slightly for a shaggier, more natural look. Both are adorable. For tiny spring flowers, scatter a few colorful sprinkles into the wet grass icing immediately after piping.
Piping the bunny body: Fill a second piping bag with white buttercream, snipping off about 1/2 inch at the tip, or use a wide round decorating tip. Pipe a rounded mound in the empty center of the cupcake to form the bunny body. This does not need to be perfect since the feet and tail will draw the eye.
🌸 First Time Using a Grass Tip?
Practice a few strokes on parchment paper before piping onto the actual cupcakes. Apply pressure to release the icing, pipe about 1/4 inch, then release pressure just before pulling away. The key is releasing pressure before you lift, which creates clean individual grass blades instead of a smear. After a few tries it becomes very natural.
Pipe the green grass around the outer ring first, then add the white rounded mound in the center for the bunny body. Leave that center space clear when piping the grass or things get crowded quickly.
🐰 Step 5: Assemble the Bunny Butts
This is the moment everything comes together. Press two bunny feet cookies upside down into the white icing body, angling them slightly outward the way a bunny’s feet would look mid-hop. Gently press one marshmallow tail into the top of the white icing mound. That is it. Step back and admire your work.
🐣 Assembly Tips for the Best Results:
- Make sure the bunny feet cookies are fully set and dry before pressing into the icing or they may slide
- Insert the feet at a slight outward angle for the most realistic mid-hop effect
- A toothpick makes it easy to nudge small details into position without disturbing the surrounding icing
- If making ahead, add the tails and feet no more than a few hours before serving so the cookies stay crisp
- For a brown bunny version, swap the white icing body for chocolate buttercream and use milk chocolate dipped feet
Angle the feet slightly outward for that perfect mid-hop look. Press the marshmallow tail firmly into the white icing so it holds through serving and transport.
🐰🧁🐰
The Complete Recipe: Low-Sugar Bunny Butt Cupcakes
Cupcakes + Buttercream + Cookie Feet + Bunny Tails + Assembly
Everything you need in one place. Print this card and you are set for Easter baking day.
🐣 Prep
1 hr 30 min
🔥 Bake
25 min
⏱️ Total
~4 hours
🧁 Yield
18 cupcakes
🥕 Carbs
20g each
🛒 Ingredients
🧁 Low-Sugar Golden Yellow Cupcakes
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup SPLENDA Granulated Sweetener
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
🐾 Bunny Feet Cookies
🐰 Bunny Tails
- 9 mini marshmallows (halved to make 18 tails)
- White nonpareil sprinkles (or shredded coconut)
🌿 Vanilla Buttercream Icing
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar (or sugar-free powdered sweetener)
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Green gel food coloring
- Colorful sprinkles for flower detail (optional)
📋 Instructions
🐾 Part 1: Make the Bunny Feet Cookies
Can be made up to 2 days ahead
1. Prepare the no-sugar sugar cookie dough and roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a small oval cookie cutter (1 1/4 inch) and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Keep them pale and blonde — no browning. Cool completely before dipping.
2. Melt white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each. Thin with a small amount of coconut oil for a smooth dipping consistency. Dip each cookie and transfer to a parchment-lined tray. Focus on getting the top side smooth since the back won’t be visible. Allow chocolate to harden completely.
3. For the pink toe details, melt a small amount of white chocolate and mix in a few drops of pink food coloring until no streaks remain. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe 3 or 4 dots for toes and a small heart shape for the main pad on each cookie.
4. Allow the pink details to dry completely before assembling. You will need 36 feet total for 18 cupcakes.
🐰 Part 2: Make the Bunny Tails
Can be made the night before
Cut 9 mini marshmallows in half crosswise to make 18 tails. Using a toothpick dipped in warm water, roll the sticky cut side of each marshmallow half into a small bowl of white nonpareil sprinkles. Lay flat on parchment paper to dry. Fluffy variation: Dip the marshmallow halves in melted white chocolate first, then roll in shredded coconut before it sets for a beautifully textured fur effect.
🧁 Part 3: Bake the Low-Sugar Yellow Cupcakes
Recipe courtesy of Splenda.com
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper baking cups.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the SPLENDA, sugar, and softened butter together on medium speed for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, dry milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a third bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
5. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend on low. Add half the buttermilk mixture and mix to combine. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and blend. Add the remaining buttermilk mixture, blend, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium-high for about 30 seconds until smooth and light.
See also
6. Divide the batter evenly among the 18 prepared cups. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before decorating.
🌿 Part 4: Make the Buttercream Icing
1. Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and creamy.
2. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix on low until combined, then increase to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar as needed until the icing holds its shape when piped.
3. Divide the buttercream roughly in half. Tint one half with green gel food coloring, mixing until even with no streaks. Leave the other half white.
🎨 Part 5: Decorate and Assemble the Bunny Butts
1. Pipe the grass: Transfer the green buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a grass tip (Wilton 233, 234, or 29). Pipe grass around the outer edge of each cupcake, leaving the center third empty for the bunny body. Apply pressure to release the icing, pipe about 1/4 inch, then release pressure just before pulling away. Hold the bag straight up for neat upright grass or tilt slightly for a shaggier natural look. For tiny spring flowers, scatter a few colorful sprinkles into the wet grass immediately after piping.
2. Pipe the bunny body: Fill a second piping bag with white buttercream, snipping off about 1/2 inch at the tip or using a wide round decorating tip. Pipe a rounded mound into the empty center of each cupcake to form the bunny body.
3. Add the feet and tail: Press two bunny feet cookies upside down into the white icing body on each cupcake, angling them slightly outward for a mid-hop look. Gently press one marshmallow tail into the top of the white icing mound. Serve within a few hours of assembly for the crispest cookies.
💡 Recipe Notes
- Make-ahead plan: The bunny feet cookies and tails can be made up to 2 days ahead. The cupcakes can be baked the day before and stored unfrosted. The buttercream can be made a day ahead and refrigerated — bring to room temperature and rewhip before piping. Assemble on the day of serving.
- Lower-sugar buttercream: For a fully low-sugar version, make your own powdered sweetener by blending SPLENDA Granulated in a high-speed blender with 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch per cup until fine and powdery.
- Brown bunny variation: Swap the white buttercream body for chocolate buttercream and use milk or dark chocolate dipped bunny feet.
- Box mix shortcut: A standard yellow or vanilla box mix works here too. Substitute SPLENDA for up to half the sugar called for in most box mixes.
- No grass tip? A star tip pressed in short bursts creates a similar textured effect. A fork can also pull and texture green icing across the cupcake surface.
- Storage: Store assembled cupcakes in a single layer in a covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For transport, use a cupcake carrier with individual slots.
🥕 Nutrition per Decorated Cupcake (estimated)
360Calories
20gCarbs
20gFat
4gProtein
11gSugar
170mgSodium
Nutrition is estimated and includes cupcake, buttercream, and cookie feet. Values will be lower if using sugar-free powdered sweetener in the buttercream.
The full batch ready to serve. At just 20 grams of carbs each, you can absolutely justify eating two.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these bunny butt cupcakes ahead of time?
Yes, and we actually recommend it. The bunny feet cookies and tails can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in airtight containers at room temperature. The cupcakes can be baked the day before and stored unfrosted. Pipe the icing and assemble on the day of serving for the freshest appearance and crispest cookies.
Can I use a box mix instead of making the cupcakes from scratch?
Absolutely. A standard yellow or vanilla box mix works fine here. You can substitute SPLENDA for up to half the sugar called for in most box mixes without significantly affecting texture. The scratch recipe above will give you a slightly more tender, bakery-style crumb but the box mix version is a perfectly good shortcut when time is short.
What if I cannot find a grass piping tip?
A star tip pressed in short bursts creates a similar textured effect. Alternatively, use a fork to pull and texture green icing spread across the cupcake surface. It will not look exactly like grass but gives a lovely spring meadow effect. The Wilton 233 grass tip is widely available at craft stores and online for just a few dollars and is worth having for future Easter baking projects.
How do I store finished bunny butt cupcakes?
Store assembled cupcakes in a single layer in a covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerating is not ideal as the cookies can soften in the humidity. If you need to transport them, a cupcake carrier with individual slots prevents the feet from being knocked loose in transit.
Can I make these gluten-free?
Yes. Substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend for the cake flour in both the cupcakes and the bunny feet cookies. The texture will be slightly more delicate so handle the dough gently. Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur both make reliable gluten-free 1:1 blends that work well in this application.
🌸 Easter Baking at Its Most Joyful
These low-sugar bunny butt cupcakes prove that the best Easter dessert ideas are the ones that make people smile before they even take a bite. They are a little whimsical, a little impressive, and completely achievable for any home baker. The low-sugar swap is seamless, the components are genuinely fun to make, and the finished cupcakes are the kind of Easter treat that gets remembered year after year.
Whether you are making these for a crowd at Easter brunch or as a fun afternoon project with the kids, they deliver every time. Get the bunny feet and tails made the night before and the whole thing comes together in well under an hour on the day.
Made these bunny butt cupcakes? We would love to see them! Leave a comment below and let us know how yours turned out. 🐰
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