"It'll be interesting at first, but then it will be awesome!"
When our fellow director made this statement about our upcoming school year last week, we just had to laugh...and then cry a little...and then we stood up, took a deep breath, and started believing it as well!
No. We can't control very much about this school year: the pandemic, school delays, school closures, virtual learning, remote learning, in person learning, new technology, technology failures, the fear and apprehension experienced by every administrator, teacher, staff member, student, and parent, etc. It has all been very "interesting". Here are the things we can control: our attitude and our celebrations! And those two things, dear friends, are what will make everything awesome!
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
If these cupcakes don't get you excited to head back to school, nothing will! We combined these fun back to school sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop Shop, with this adorably festive confetti from Festive Fetti , and our handmade watercolor cupcake picks and banners for our cheery back to school celebration.
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 ounces red food coloring
1 tsp. white vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting*:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. clear vanilla extract
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
*can be doubled if you want more frosting for your cupcakes
Directions
Line cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla together in a bowl.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda over the egg mixture.
Add the buttermilk and stir to combine.
Add the food color and vinegar and stir to combine.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each liner about half full with cupcake mixture.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack to cool.
Prepare frosting: Combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and cream together. Slowly add in the powdered sugar to reach the right consistency. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
Yields: 24 cupcakes
Strawberry Shortcake Waffles with Maple Whipped Cream
A celebratory Back to School Breakfast is a perfect way to kick off the First Day of class and who wouldn't be excited to start their day with these Strawberry Shortcake Waffles with Maple Whipped Cream?! This rise and shine scene includes our Target Dollar Spot yellow cake plate find, Festive Fetti's B2S confetti and cutouts, and our colorful watercolor mini banner and First Day flags.
Ingredients
Waffles:
16 ounces fresh strawberries
2 cups of your favorite Buttermilk Baking and Pancake Mix (I use Old Country Store Mix)
4 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Maple Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
Directions
Preheat waffle iron. Slice strawberries and set aside.
Place the 2 cups mix and sugar in bottom of large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients. Gently combine being careful not to overmix. The batter will be slightly lumpy.
Cook the waffles according to your waffle iron's instructions. Waffles can be kept warm in low preheated oven until time to serve.
With an electric mixer, whip the cream on medium high until it starts to thicken. Add the maple syrup and continue mixing on high until stiff peaks form.
To serve, layer the waffles with the strawberries and the whipped cream. The whipped cream provides that maple taste so syrup is not needed. We prefer the extra so syrup is always added to our waffles.
Yields: 10 to 12 waffles
Snickerdoodle Apple Cobbler
It does not matter how your little one returns to school, whether it is virtually or in person, this school year is going to be different from those before. In an effort to embrace our peculiar reality, we took our after school snack to a whole new level! Our Snickerdoodle Apple Cobbler, adorned with a red apple pompom banner, is a keeper! We will definitely continue with this tradition next year (even if we don't especially need some first day comfort food!).
Ingredients
Cookie Topping:
1 pouch sugar cookie mix
1/2 cups butter, softened
1 large egg
2 Tbsps. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Apple Filling:
10 cups of apple pie filling (4 cans of pie filling)
1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsps. all-purpose flour
2 tsps. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine the sugar cookie mix, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix until a soft dough forms. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
In another bowl, combine apple pie filling, sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon together. Stir to coat the apples and pour into the prepared 9x13 pan. Spread apple mixture evenly into pan, and gentle press them down in the pan.
Take the cookie dough by the handful and press the dough into a flat shape. Lay the cookie dough over the apples. Continue with the rest of the dough in covering the apples to form the crust.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the crust.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. On the last 15 minutes, loosely cover the cobbler with foil to prevent the crust browning too much.
As teachers we encourage you to have an attitude of grace (for yourself, your child, your schools, your community) and allow it to flow freely this school year! As Celebration Specialists we hope we have inspired you to CELEBRATE IT ALL! Remember: It will be interesting at first, but then it will be AWESOME!
Credits:
Sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop Shop
Back to School Watercolor Cupcake Picks, Banners, and Flags by Confetti Affairs
