Last Minute School Cupcakes

This one is for all you busy, on the go moms out there.

     My kids constantly are forgetting to give me their school newsletters & notes from their teachers. And I, being the busy mom that I am, don't always read my e-mails.

     While at hockey practice on a Tuesday night with my two girls ages 4 & 7, I get a text from a fellow mom who's child is in the same class as my 4 year old mentioning that they had just finished making a birthday card for Ella for her birthday party at school....Really? Since my daughters birthday is at the end of March, I logically assumed that the preschool class would be celebrating on the last Friday before March Break...But no, I was wrong. They would be celebrating St.Patrick's Day on the last Friday before March Break, and Ella's birthday celebration would be the following morning!

     Now I am in a pinch, and really don't feel like rushing off to the grocery store to get baking supplies. When I got home from hockey, the kids got all showered up, and I promptly put them to bed.
     Trying to figure out what in the world I was going to make for her class I blankly stared into my pantry and the shelves of my stockpile. I had the ingredients to make Rice Krispy treats...but that's not really saying "Birthday" to me...I found my last few packages of Dr.Oetker Brownie mix & Dr.Oetker Icing that I purchased for $1.00 each on sale a few months ago.

     It was 8:30pm...I figured, 5 minutes to get it together, 20 minutes to bake, 10 minutes to cool, and 5 minutes to decorate. In 40 minutes...this is what I came up with, and they were a hit!

Here is everything that I used:

• 1 package of Dr.Oetker Brownie Mix (makes 11 small cupcakes)
• 1 package of Dr.Oetker Chocolate Icing Mix
• 1 package of Dr.Oetker White Icing Mix
• Red sprinkles
• 1/2 pint washed strawberries cut in half

     I managed to make 11 small cupcakes with the brownie mix. The class only has 8 students, so this was just the right amount. I combined the chocolate & white icing together to make a "light" colored chocolate icing. I only had one of each package, and wanted them to be all the same. Combining them was perfect. I piped the icing with a regular piping bag with no tip attached (if you don't have a piping bag, you can use any plastic bag with a small piece of the corner cut off) swirling around the cupcake from the outside in. Shake a bit of red sprinkles left over from my Christmas cookies, and Voila! Done!

     To decorate & get it all prettied up for school, I wrapped a pizza pan in tin foil, and used of the last of my strawberries that I had, which I sliced in half and scattered around the tray in between the cupcakes.

     So, its always a great idea to stock up on those items that you see on "Dollar Days" that you know that you may use some day...Keep an eye out for those sales, and don't just pass them by. It may just be one of those items that will be your saving grace when you find out you need a "treat" for your child class the following morning.