Cooking with Kids: Super Simple, Green, Lucky, St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

Sometimes, cooking with kids means that allowing the kids to create their own culinary masterpieces without parental intervention. Honestly, everything that comes out of our kitchen doesn't need to be destined for a food magazine or blog--in fact, some of our best kitchen experiences are created by with our little ones--and those experiences are not always ones of beauty. 

Over the years, we have made birthday cakes in the shape of teapots, Easter cakes shaped like the Easter Bunny, Cat in the Hat shaped cakes for Dr. Seuess' birthday, and tons of other labor intensive projects. When I asked the girls what they would like to make for St. Patrick's Day, I had visions of leprechauns--or pots of gold. What did the girls wish to create? Cupcakes, of course.

But, as we discussed our cupcake ideas--I discovered that the girls' ideal St. Patrick's Day cupcake was rather simple by my standards. What did they associate with St. Patrick's Day? The color green. What else? Luck. Hmmm. Anything fancy? Sprinkles. See, my girls didn't need elaborate cupcake designs or special bakery style cupcake picks--just lucky, green sprinkled cupcakes. Guess what else? They taste just as good as the ones that I've spent hours on for events--and the girls had the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with creating something yummy in the kitchen!

The Girls' Recipe for Super Simple, Green, Lucky, St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

• 1 Boxed Cake Mix (prepared and baked according to directions for cupcakes). We opted for chocolate.
• 1 c. Nestle Mint & Chocolate Baking Chips (If you cannot find these specialty mint & chocolate baking chips--add 1/4 tsp. mint extract to the batter with 1 c. regular semi sweet chocolate morsels.)
• 1 Container Vanilla or Cream Cheese Frosting (or any other light frosting that can be tinted with green food coloring)
• Green Food Coloring (I use gel coloring--it's easier for the girls to handle!)
• Sprinkles (Have green sugar or sprinkles leftover from Christmas cookies?)
• Lucky Charm Marshmallows (We used the rainbow and clover marshmallows for our cupcakes.)
• Gold Cupcake Sugar (If the kids would like a little gold dust at the end of their rainbows!) 

Instructions for Super Simple, Green, Lucky, St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

• Preheat Oven, Prepare Cupcake Cups, and Bake. Bake Cupcakes according to cake mix recipe (or your favorite homemade recipe). We frequently buy seasonal, paper cupcake liners--but, we opted for plain green pastels for these cupcakes.
• Cool Cupcakes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on wire cooling racks.
• Color Frosting. Add 4-5 drops green food coloring, or about 1/2 inch stream of gel coloring to a bowl of frosting. Mix thoroughly to combine. Add more food coloring if a darker, green color is desired.
• Frost and Decorate Cupcakes. We skip the fancy decorator bags and frosting tips when the kids are cooking. The girls simply dip the tops of the cupcakes into a bowl of frosting, twist slightly, and then smooth the frosting onto bare spots with the back of a coffee spoon. Allow the kids to decorate as desired. 

What is your Recipe for Fun?

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox Clean-Up Recipes for Fun blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points.