Easter Cupcakes Because Everybunny Loves Cupcakes!

Everybunny loves Cupcakes, right? (sorry, just could not resist, LOL.)  Here is a cute but simple Easter Cupcakes recipe  for fun whimsical bunny cupcakes...enjoy with the kids, and maybe even leave one out for the Easter Bunny himself! Using a ready made cake mix saves time and keeps it simple! This recipe comes from  Quick and Simple.com, with a few minor adaptions I made.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box(es) (18 1/4-ounce) white cake mix, plus additional ingredients as directed on package (except water)
• 11/2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cup(s) fluffy white frosting
• Assorted food coloring
• 6 large marshmallows
• Pink decorating sugar
• Small pink candies, such as jelly beans or Skittles
• 48 small blue candies, such as M&M Minis or chewable SweeTarts
• Chocolate sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners. Prepare cake mix as directed for 24 cupcakes, substituting milk for water and adding vanilla extract to batter. Bake and cool completely as directed.
2. Spoon 2 cups frosting into a bowl and tint yellow, light blue, pale green or pink with food coloring (or make different colors). Frost your cupcakes.
3. Spoon a dollop of remaining white frosting onto center of each cupcake for bunny faces. To make ears: Cut each marshmallow in half crosswise with kitchen shears, then cut each piece in half diagonally to form 2 ears, flattening slightly with your fingers. Press in pink decorating sugar. Stick 2 ears into each of white frosting mounds.
4. Use pink candies to make noses, blue candies for eyes and chocolate sprinkles for whiskers. Recipe comes from Quick and Simple.com

Be Irish (even if you aren't) and Eat a Green Cupcake!

Everyone is Irish come St. Patrick's Day! So put on a green apron, and make these St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes from kids cooking at about.com! Surely you have little leprechauns at home that will thank-you with smiles and pots of gold for making these treats!

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1-1/4 cups milk
• green food coloring
• For frosting:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp. milk
• green colored sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease with butter.
2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Beat one-third of the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture, then beat in one-third of the milk, continuing to alternate between flour mixture and milk until all ingredients are mixed in.
4. Add a few drops of the food coloring, mixing until the desired color is reached. Pour batter for St. Patrick's Day cupcakes into prepared muffin tin. Bake 18-20 minutes.
5. Let St. Patrick's Day cupcakes cool completely.
6. To make the cupcake frosting, beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and 3 Tbsp. of the milk. Add the additional tablespoon of the milk if necessary to thin the frosting. Frost cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with colored sugar.

Makes 12-14 St. Patrick's Day cupcakes.

 

 

Lighter Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I found this recipe in a magazine a while back, and loved that it was a "lite" version of the traditional Lemon Meringue Cupcake (after all, a girl's got to watch her weight sometimes!):

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. yellow cake mix ( or use the basic yellow cake mix recipe)
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 egg whites
1 egg
3 Tbs. oil
l2 Tbs. + 2 tsp. grated lemon zest, from 3 lemons
1/2cup cold water
12 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. meringue powder
lemon zest strips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 24 muffin cups with liners.

On low speed, beat cake mix, 1 1/3 cups water, sour cream, egg whites, egg and oil until just combined--about 30 seconds or so.

On medium speed, beat about two more minutes.

Stir in 2 Tbs. zest

Divide batter among liners.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Cool about 10 minutes.

Increase oven temp to 425 degrees

On medium speed, beat water, 6Tbs. sugar and meringue powder until combined.

On medium-high speed, beat 5 minutes or until soft peaks form.

Gradually beat in remaining sugar until stiff and glossy, 5 minutes.

Stir in remaining zest.

Frost cupcakes, then bake on pan 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned;

Cool and garnish with zest.

This recipe has 33% less fat and 20% fewer calories than an average lemon meringue cupcake recipe!