I♥cuppycakes!

Plant A Tree for Earth Day Cupcakes

(Source)

I’ll be the first to admit that I need to do better at taking care of Mother Earth. But I’m proud to say I don’t do nothing. (Stay where you are grammar police!)

(1) I separate my plastics, paper and cans for recycling.
(2) When my bag boy asks me for “paper” or “plastic” I say neither. I use my own canvas bags instead.
(3) All my light bulbs and big appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher, W/D) are energy efficient.
(4) We rarely use the heater. That’s what hoodies, sweaters and Snuggies are for.
(5) I take showers instead of baths to conserve water.

And soon I’ll be adding to my list… plant a tree in backyard. (Actually it’s more like a teeny tiny patio w dirt.) Hopefully my black thumb doesn’t rear it’s ugly head. Sad to say my grass and rose garden attempts did not fare so well. RIP Rosey.

So in honor of Earth Day and planting a tree, I made cupcakes.

HAPPY EARTH DAY READERS! Click (here) for more information.

Come back tomorrow for Part 1 of Interview With The Cupcakers, Alan Richardson and Karen Tack!

Oh and thanks to all readers who left me a comment or emailed about Cupcake Hero. I’m going to be revamping the rules this weekend. Don’t forget about Cupcake Hero::April! Only 3 days left and only 1 entry… You could have a great chance of winning some fabulous cupcake prizes.

Plant A Tree Cupcakes

Makes 18 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

favorite vanilla cupcake recipe (here)
favorite vanilla frosting recipe, tinted green (I used 1 can Duncan Hines classic vanilla)
favorite chocolate frosting recipe (I used <1 tbsp of Duncan Hines classic milk chocolate)
18 lollipops (I used Blow Pops)
tiny red heart sprinkles
Oreo cookies crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS
Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

To make trees—
Dip lollipop into the frosting until covered. Use your finger to push into frosting and pull away to create peaks on the tree top.

Randomly place heart sprinkles over the surface of the “tree”. Pipe a little stem above each “apple” heart.

Tip: I used an empty egg crate on top of a towel to stand the trees up vertical while they were drying.

To assemble cupcakes—
Using a grass tip (I used Wilton #324) pipe grass on the cupcake. Place a 1.5″ cookie cutter on top to give you a guideline for the Oreo crumbs.

Place crumbs halfway up the cookie cutter, packed it in lightly and then remove the cookie cutter to create the “dirt” mound. Insert 1 tree into each cupcake.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: N/A

Wifey rating: A
I have to say that Blow Pops and frosting are AWESOME together. HA! These cupcakes were fun, easy to make and biodegradeable… in my tummy. Nom nom nom. *wink*