Marzipan Ducks

Nursing ducky you're the one! You make cupcakes so much fun! Nursing ducky I'm awfully fond of yoooooou.....

Today's "lesson" is how to channel your inner 5 year old with marzipan!

Brand does not matter, I'm not paid to endorse a brand, this is just what's available at my local grocery store.

Other good things to have on hand: foil or parchment paper to work on, no-stick cooking spray to lightly lube your hands, and nitrile (or latex if you're one of those non-allergic type) gloves if you do not want to turn your skin all sorts of fun colors - personally I don't care so I skip this one.

Color your marzipan, I prefer gel colors - you can even get a nifty 14-pack of colors for all your food-dye needs.  Add a toothpick full of color and knead it in - add more color as necessary.

For these ducks you need white (non-colored), yellow, and orange (please pull out those archaic color wheels!)

Form the body - roll the marzipan into an oval and pinch one end to form the tail.  This is exactly like working with play dough.

Add a head.

And wings...

Don't forget the beak!

And of course the nurse hat and eyes. For the eyes I just use black food gel and dip the end of a toothpick in before dotting each eye.  Same procedure for the cross, just with red food dye.

Nursing Ducky Navy!!!

These will be stashed in an airtight container until I make the cupcakes they will be perched upon on in a day or two.  Each 6oz package of marzipan is enough to make about 24 critters.

You can of course skip the hat, but I think it adds that special something when being used to bribe er...ask your higher ups for letters of recommendation.

(And now my loyal followers can figure out what my day job is)