Easter Chick Cupcakes

Happy almost Easter! Today, I am baking and cooking up a storm. I am home for the weekend, and getting ready for our family feast tomorrow. Here is a fun cupcake recipe and decoration idea. So cute, you just won't want to eat them, but so delicious that you will!

I started with a carrot cake base for the cupcakes, but you can surely pick any cupcake you like. Also, remember to have all your ingredients at room temperature, for better baking! This is a modified recipe from a recipe I found in my mom's Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

Carrot Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs (room temperature!)

2 cups of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

3 cups of finely shredded carrots

1. Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs until they are well blended. Then, beat for 1 minute.

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients except for the carrots. Beat for 1 minute. Stir in carrots until they are well incorporated.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a medium sized muffin pan. Pour mixture into the pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, when inserted into the cupcakes.

note: If you do not fill all of the muffin holes in the pan with batter, fill the empty ones 3/4 of the way with water. This helps the muffins bake evenly!

Next, I prepared buttercream frosting for the cupcakes. I wasn't thrilled with the recipe, so I might suggest using a cream cheese frosting instead. Frost the sides and top the the cupcake.

Then, for the final touches, I rolled the cupcakes in toasted, shredded coconut. I used Good and Plenty candy for the chick's "comb", an almond for the beak and two mini chocolate chips for the eyes. So cute!