Kids In The Kitchen

I don’t know how you feel about havin’ kids in the kitchen when you cook, but mine are typically hanging on my legs, tugging on my shirt, or tryin’ to tear the pots & pans off the stove while I’m cookin’ away.  I HAVE to let my boys have their own time in the kitchen because I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want them to turn out like Bobby & Jamie Deen {Paula Deen’s boys}.  Sons cookin’ for their momma?!  SOLD!!!  Of course, my kids are FAR from cookin’ up four course meals, but when it comes to dessert, my oldest is all over it.  And I LOVE to let him help…as messy as it may get.  This was the PERFECT sweet treat to make with Little Man…he LOVED every part of it…and so did I!!!

TASTE THE RAINBOW CUPCAKES

1 box of cake mix {white or vanilla, prepare as directed}

Gel Food Coloring {I used Betty Crocker}

As you can see, not too many ingredients.  Easy enough, right?!  Well…it is definitely EASY, but don’t say I didn’t warn you about the TIME it takes to get these cupcakes “just right” :)

Prepare cake mix as directed.  Meanwhile, set aside 4-5 small bowls.  Evenly distribute the cake batter into the bowls.  Add several drops of food coloring to each bowl.  There’s no science to this, just add as many drops as it takes for you to get the color you want!  My little kitchen helper was more than happy to help :)

  

I let Little Man choose the colors and he chose 5 of ‘em.  We also turned this little kitchen project into a fun lesson on colors!  HA!!  Okay, so he knows all of his colors, but Dora & Diego have been teaching him some of his colors in Spanish, and he was tryin’ hard to repeat those back to us as he mixed and stirred.  The gel food coloring is the BEST because it helps your batter to stay the same consistency without getting runny. 

Now comes the fun :)  Remember…this part is definitely time consuming.  Little Man decided to take a hike once it came to portioning out the batter.  Line your cupcake pan with liners {a little detail I FORGOT!!!} and layer the batter by color.  I did one color at a time until the batter was gone and I used about 1-1 1/2 tsp. of each color in each liner.  Then pop ‘em in the oven and bake as directed.

Now, because I forgot the liners…and left the cupcakes in 10 minutes too long…my cupcakes turned out a little “browner” than I would’ve liked….but they were still YUM!!! 

Remove and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before frosting.  And if you’re feeling really saucy, let the kids add sprinkles for an extra little fun factor :)

  

There’s nothing extraordinary about the taste…they’re just regular ol’ cupcakes after all…but the surprise on Little Man’s face when he bit into it and found a rainbow of flavor was priceless :)

 

Put this on your list of things to try in the kitchen with your little cutie{s}.  There’s nothin’ I love more than makin’ memories in the kitchen with my boys :)