Valentines angst!
So Grace's lovely 3rd grade teacher signed us up for cupcakes! She did this as a kindness so I could take care of Grace.
I am all about driving to Walmart and getting two dozen cupcakes for $5 - all baked and decorated so I did just that - then... came home and at 9 pm baked a box of Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix to make a batch of gluten free cupcakes that looked just like the store bought ones. I had WM make chocolate cupcakes with white icing and got some sprinkles to decorate both kinds so they would look alike.
The Cherrybrook Kitchen cupcakes were horrible - smelled great but tasted terrible - something Grace and I could both agree on. There was a bitterness to it and the texture was "wrong." It was also a little gritty. I am a believer that anything w/the right amount of oil and sugar must be edible but I could only eat one bite of the cupcake - same with Grace. I asked her if she thought icing would help and she said no. sigh.
Grace's Godmother Allison sent Grace a care package and in it were Pamela's Butter Shortbread cookies - simple round cookies topped with nothing. I took the tub of Pillsbury Classic White Frosting, placed a large 4 B star tip in the corner of a snipped baggie and went to town. About an inch of icing on top, had Grace put sprinkles on top and they looked GREAT!! Honestly - you can get past almost any cookie w/an inch of frosting and sprinkles on top. Of course my graduation from classes 1 and 2 from Wilton Cake Decorating Class didn't hurt either :)
I think these may be our "go to" treats for parties from now on. They were substantial enough to "feel" special but were very simple to pull together. I will probably make sure to have a package of these on hand.
If anyone has suggestions for boxed mixes or has some great recipes for cakes or cupcakes I would love to hear them.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
