Get creative with your little ones and celebrate the joys of spring! From decorating delicious Easter treats to crafting colorful egg art, it's an opportunity to make lasting memories together. Whether you're baking sweet, bunny-themed cupcakes or painting keepsake Easter eggs, these activities are sure to inspire a touch of seasonal magic.
Easter Bunny Cupcakes
Hippity-hoppity! Gather your little bunnies, along with a box of cake mix, applesauce, frosting, and adorable accompaniments, then whip up a batch of festive cupcakes. -Holley Grainger, MS, RD, holleygrainger.com
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow, white, or chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- Frosting, sprinkles, marshmallows, jellybeans, shredded coconut, candy eyes, for decorating
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix and applesauce, stirring until well incorporated. (Mixture will be crumbly, but do not add extra applesauce. It will come together as you stir.)
Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or add paper liners. Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin cup.
Bake 14 to 16 minutes, or until cupcakes puff up, tops are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.
Use frosting, sprinkles, marshmallows, jellybeans, shredded coconut, candy eyes, and any other desired candies to decorate cupcake bunnies. To make bunny ears, slice a large marshmallow in half on the diagonal. Flatten each piece into an ear shape and press each sticky side into sprinkles. Place in frosting on top of cupcake.
Mini Carrot Cake Pancakes with Vanilla Greek Yogurt Frosting
These decadent cakes are a clever way to work in many nutritious ingredients, including carrots, walnuts, Greek yogurt, and oats. -Holley Grainger, MS, RD, holleygrainger.com
Ingredients
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1½ cups matchstick carrots
- ½ cup walnuts (whole, halved, or pieces)
- 1 cup low-fat milk (or unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus extra, for sprinkling
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 5.3 ounces plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
In the bowl of a small food processor, combine oats, coconut, and carrots. Pulse until combined and small pieces form (about ¼-inch pieces). Remove and set aside.
Clean out the food processor bowl; add walnuts and pulse a few times to form smaller pieces. Remove and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla, oil, maple syrup, and egg until combined.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Gently stir in carrot mixture until combined.
Whisk together Greek yogurt, brown sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl. Set frosting aside.
Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop mixture by tablespoonfuls into the skillet, then sprinkle each pancake with a few chopped nuts. Cook each pancake for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until edges are dry and bubbles appear; flip and cook about 1 minute more. Serve immediately, drizzling each stack with frosting and sprinkling with cinnamon.
Fingerprint Eggs
These adorable and simple-to-make Easter eggs are keepsakes you’ll enjoy for years, so skip the real deal here and use plastic or wooden craft eggs from Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Target, and Michael’s. To make, simply dip fingertips in craft paint and gently press onto eggs. Allow to dry completely. Once paint is dry, use Sharpies to add details, such as a chick face and legs, carrot tops, and egg decorations. Display in an Easter basket or egg carton.