So I volunteered for two class Easter parties on perhaps my busiest day of the year - EVER. Realizing, however, that my class party days could be over in a mere six short years (apparently middle schoolers are not allowed an egg hunt!), I decided to make the best of it with an old favorite, a new idea and a few shortcuts.
Peep Cupcakes
Here's the old favorite - the one my kids beg me to bring to all the Easter parties.
How cute are they? The great thing about these cupcakes is that they are so much easier than they look! Just start with a batch of cupcakes, add some tinted frosting and top with a Peep!
The key to making these cupcakes look impressive is to match the frosting to the Peeps. Today I did three colors: yellow, orange and purple. I used Wilton food coloring. Go ahead and use your 40% off coupon at Michael's or JoAnn's and get the biggest box of assorted food colors that you can. It will last you forever. As they say during pre-school crafts - a drop is a lot! The Wilton gel colors work so much better than the liquid food coloring at the grocery store, because it doesn't change the consistency of the frosting. For these cupcakes, I used a homemade cream cheese frosting. This is my all time favorite frosting, and here is the simple recipe:
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
2 pounds confectioners sugar (1 bag)
pinch of salt
Beat until well mixed.
After you have mixed the colors, spoon the frosting into a gallon ziploc bag. Cut about 1/4" off the bag tip and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes in a circular motion. Piping the icing onto the cupcake gives it a professional look, and makes it thicker than using a knife. You want a soft spot for the Peeps to sit!
Party Carrots
This was my something new. I found this cute set-up idea at http://familyfun.com. For more instructions, just go to the website and search "party carrots".
Fruit Kabobs
By the second party of the day, I had no time left and found this impressive short cut. In 12 minutes I was able to convert one bowl of fresh, Costco pre-cut up fruit...
into 20 fruit kabobs!
Why is it that the same kids that won't eat fruit salad will eat it on a stick?
Of course, what Easter Party blog would be complete without pictures of the egg hunt?
Success!