Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes + Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes
These moist, light cupcakes full of vanilla flavor are great alone or with frosting and other toppings. Kids can get their creative juices flowing by deciding how to decorate their cupcakes. One fun idea is to add different colors to shredded coconut using the juice from fruit and veggies and then topping their cupcakes with the Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Shopping List
- FRESH OR FROZEN
- Food coloring options:
- red or pink: raspberries, pure pomegranate juice, or roasted beets
- yellow: raw carrot or mango
- green: frozen spinach
- blue or purple: red cabbage
- indigo: mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries
- DAIRY AND EGGS
- 1 C plain yogurt **(see allergy subs below)**
- 2 extra-large eggs **(see allergy subs below)**
- 1/2 C unsalted butter, melted**(see allergy subs below)**
- 1/3 C milk **(see allergy subs below)**
- PANTRY
- pumpkin purée (for orange food coloring)
- 1 to 3 T or more shredded coconut (1 T for each color used)
- 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour **(see allergy subs below)**
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract **(see allergy subs below)**
- 4 T powdered sugar
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- bake :
to cook food with dry heat, as in an oven.
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- chop :
to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.
- drizzle :
to trickle a thin stream of a liquid ingredient, like icing or sauce, over food.
- knife skills :
Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls).
- measure :
to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).
- mix :
to thoroughly combine two or more ingredients until uniform in texture.
- reduce :
to boil or simmer a cooking liquid, like a sauce or juice, until it evaporates, thickens, and becomes concentrated, intensifying the flavors.
- sprinkle :
to scatter small drops or particles of an ingredient evenly or randomly over food.
- strain :
to separate liquids from solid foods or remove bigger food particles from smaller particles using a perforated or porous device like a strainer, sieve, colander, or cheesecloth.
- wet vs dry :
to mix wet and dry ingredients separately before combining them: dry ingredients are flours, leavening agents, salt, and spices; wet ingredients are those that dissolve or can be dissolved (sugar, eggs, butter, oils, honey, vanilla, milk, and juices).
- whisk :
to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.
Equipment Checklist
- Oven
- Muffin pan
- Paper cupcake liners
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon
- Toothpicks or knife to test doneness
- Blender or food processor
- Cutting board
- Kid-safe knife
- Fine strainer or cheesecloth
- Medium saucepan
- Small bowls
Ingredients
Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour)**
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 C plain yogurt **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free plain yogurt)**
- 2 extra-large eggs **(for EGG ALLERGY sub 2 mashed ripe bananas + 1 tsp baking powder)**
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor—check label)**
- 1/2 C unsalted butter, melted **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance)**
- 1/4 C milk **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free milk)**
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
- 1 to 3 T shredded coconut (1 T for each color used)
- 4 T powdered sugar
- 1/2 T milk **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free milk)**
- Food coloring:
- red or pink: use raspberries, pure pomegranate juice, or roasted beets
- orange: use pumpkin purée
- yellow: use raw carrot or mango
- green: use frozen spinach
- blue: use red cabbage and about 1/4 tsp baking soda to turn it blue—lightly sprinkle and stir until you get the desired shade
- indigo: use a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries until the shade is perfect
- purple: use red cabbage
Food Allergen Substitutions
Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes
- Gluten/Wheat: Substitute gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour. Use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor.
- Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free plain yogurt. Substitute dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance. Substitute dairy-free/nut-free milk.
- Egg: For 2 extra-large eggs, substitute 2 mashed ripe bananas + 1 tsp baking powder.
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
- Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free milk.
Instructions
Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes
preheat + measure + mix
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. Measure and mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
crack + stir
Crack 2 large eggs into a large bowl and stir in 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/2 cup melted butter.
combine + whisk + pour
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Pour the batter into the wells of your lined muffin pan.
bake + decorate
Bake in your preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a toothpick or knife. Add frosting or other toppings if desired, like Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles!
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
food coloring
Create your colored liquid for your sprinkles first using one of the three following methods.
fruit method
Using either berries (red or indigo) or mango (yellow), start with a cup of fresh or frozen fruit. Use a blender to liquify and then pour the thick liquid over a fine strainer to remove any seeds. You should have about 1/2 cup of juice.
root veggie method
Using either roasted beets (red), raw carrots (yellow), or spinach (green), add small amounts of water, bit by bit, until you have enough to totally blend and liquify the vegetables. Then use a fine metal strainer or cheesecloth to remove the pulp. You should have about 1/2 cup of juice.
cabbage method
Chop up a small head of red cabbage (purple or blue), add it to a medium-size saucepan on your stovetop, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for up to 25 minutes, until the water turns deep purple. Remove the cabbage and set it aside. Strain the liquid and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to it to turn it from purple to blue!
reduce
Once you have your colored liquids, you’ll need to reduce them to make a more powerful coloring agent. Pour each juice, one at a time, into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it reduces to a thick, very colorful paste.
add + mix
Add 1 tablespoon of dried shredded coconut to small bowls, one for each color, and add your homemade natural food coloring a few drops at a time. Mix thoroughly until the coconut is completely and evenly coated with the color.
spread + dry
Heat a skillet on your stovetop over very low heat and spread the colored coconut shreds on the skillet to dry the color onto the coconut. Try not to mix the colors when still wet. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, watching closely so the coconut doesn't burn! Remove from heat and if you like, mix colors together for a rainbow effect.
whisk + drizzle + sprinkle
Make a sugar glaze. Measure 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 tablespoon milk into a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Finally, drizzle or spread a small amount of glaze over cooled cupcakes, like Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes, and then sprinkle the rainbow sprinkles on top of each. The sprinkles will stick to the glaze like glue!
Hi! I'm Vanilla!
“I'm a flower, a flavor, an aroma, a spice, a seed, and a pod! Did you know that my pods come from a Vanilla orchid? For cooking, I can flavor foods by adding vanilla extract (much tastier than imitation vanilla) or vanilla paste (made from extract and ground seeds). You can also slice open a pod and scrape out the tiny black seeds to add to your dish, and steep the pod in liquid. I'm essential for baking (and ice cream)!"
History & Etymology
- Vanilla has an intriguing history. Because of its high value over time, vanilla has been the subject of historical robbery and great intrigue. Growers in Madagascar are known to "tattoo" their beans with a knife when the pods are still green so they can identify their beans if they suspect someone has stolen them. How they find the stolen beans is anyone's guess!
- Vanilla is indigenous to southeastern Mexico and, in the 1500s, traveled to Spain. Initially, it was only valued for its use as perfume.
- For hundreds of years, Mexico was the only country that grew vanilla. Now, Madagascar, an island country off the coast of Southeastern Africa, grows the most vanilla in the world.
- Other places that produce vanilla are Costa Rica, Guatemala, Uganda, Kenya, China, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and other Pacific Islands. Find these places on your map! What do they all have in common? They are hot, tropical places where vanilla orchids can grow abundantly.
- Why is vanilla so expensive even today? It's because growing vanilla is very labor-intensive. In fact, vanilla is the second most labor-intensive agricultural crop, next to saffron. It can take nearly three years after planting the vines before the first orchid flowers appear. Vanilla beans must remain on the vine for nine months before developing their sweet aroma. The beans are still green when growers harvest them. Then they turn brown and become richly flavored during the drying and curing process.
- We consume the most vanilla in the United States compared to any other place! However, the vanilla found in fragrances and foods is 98 percent imitation! This is because synthetic vanilla is less expensive than the real thing.
- Only the Melipona bee in Central America can pollinate the vanilla flower. In other parts of the world, farmers mimic the process with wooden needles.
- July 23rd is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day in the US.
- The English word "vanilla" comes from the Spanish word "vainilla," meaning "little pod, the diminutive of "vaina," meaning "sheath" or "pod."
Anatomy
- Vanilla is a member of the orchid family and prefers hot, wet, tropical climates. Vanilla is also the only edible orchid (that we know of).
- A climbing vine, vanilla grows whitish-green flowers that are hand pollinated. It requires supportive structures for optimal growth. Vanilla vines can grow anywhere from 30 to 50 feet long!
- The fruit, when mature, is about five inches long, a half-inch thick, and looks like a bean pod.
- The pod ripens gradually for 8 to 9 months after flowering, eventually turning black and giving off a strong aroma. Inside the cured vanilla bean pod are thousands of tiny vanilla seeds that are rich in flavor.
- These seeds give vanilla bean ice cream its tiny black flecks, and it is how you know your vanilla ice cream is the real thing!
- The vanilla orchid lasts only a day, and pollination needs to happen before it dies.
How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- No two vanilla beans are the same in taste, color, or aroma, just like wine grapes.
- Store vanilla beans away from heat or light.
- To open a vanilla pod, place it on a flat surface. Press down at the top to hold it steady, then take a knife and split the pod down the middle. Next, spread apart the pod and run your knife down its length. The seeds will stick to the knife!
- Use the empty vanilla pod to infuse a jar of sugar or salt. Or steep it in milk or cream to use in recipes! Or poach fruit with a vanilla bean to give it a subtle kiss of flavor.
- A few drops of vanilla will balance a tomato's acidity.
- Steep vanilla beans in coffee or tea, or grind them with your coffee beans for flavored java.
- Spiders don't like vanilla! So, vanilla and vinegar in a spray bottle will send spiders running!
- Try chopping up vanilla beans and mixing them with Epsom salts and a little vanilla extract for a luxurious bath.
- One vanilla bean is equivalent to about three teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- You can add vanilla to sweet and savory recipes. Try mixing some vanilla beans into a homemade salad vinaigrette or poaching a vanilla bean in butter for a delicious sauce to serve over fish!
- Vanilla extract is made by pounding vanilla pods in a solution of ethanol and water. Ethanol is a grain alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, but it is also used as a fuel additive, often blended with gasoline (especially corn-based ethanol). However, the ethanol manufactured for drinks and vanilla extract has to follow more purity standards than the type used in petroleum products.
Nutrition
- There are some claims of the health benefits of vanilla, such as reducing skin damage, aiding digestion, and alleviating nausea; however, there is not enough evidence to confirm these. Still, vanilla's pleasant fragrance may help calm and lift moods.
History of Cupcakes!
- The earliest recipe for what would be later called a "cupcake" can be found in a cookbook, American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons, written in 1796. In it, she described "a light cake to bake in small cups."
- The earliest written record of the word "cupcake" was from an 1828 cookbook, Seventy-Five Receipts [Recipes] for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, by Eliza Leslie.
- We can conclude from both of these facts that the cupcake is an American creation. Before there were cupcake or muffin pans, bakers used pottery cups to make these small, round, individual cakes. Hence, the name "cupcake!"
- Baked cupcakes can be decorated just like a full-size cake, with frosting type, fruit, sprinkles, and more. In addition, they are sometimes filled with fruit curd, jam, nut or fruit pie filling, or chocolate ganache after baking. To fill a cupcake, after it has completely cooled, scoop out a bit of the cake in the middle, using a paring knife, apple corer, or melon baller. Then, fill the cupcake using a spoon or filled pastry bag.
- Cupcakes can be eaten like a sandwich, a method that allows for frosting in every bite. Pull apart or slice the cake horizontally in the middle, put the bottom half on top of the frosting, then eat it like a sandwich!
- Cupcakes are popular birthday and school party treats. Some weddings have also featured an elaborate tiered cupcake display instead of, or in addition to, the traditional wedding cake!
Let's Learn About the United States!
- Most of the United States of America (USA) is in North America. It shares its northern border with Canada and its southern border with Mexico. It consists of 50 states, 1 federal district, 5 territories, 9 Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations.
- The country's total area is 3,796,742 square miles, globally the third largest after Russia and Canada. The US population is over 333 million, making it the third most populous country in the world, after China and India.
- The United States of America declared itself an independent nation from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, by issuing the Declaration of Independence.
- The Revolutionary War between the US and Great Britain was fought from 1775-1783. We only had 13 colonies at that time! On September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and declared that the new nation would be called the United States.
- The 13 colonies became states after each ratified the constitution of the new United States, with Delaware being the first on December 7, 1787.
- The 13 stripes on the US flag represent those first 13 colonies, and the 50 stars represent our 50 states. The red color of the flag symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes innocence and purity, and blue symbolizes vigilance and justice.
- Before settling in Washington DC, a federal district, the nation's capital resided in New York City and then Philadelphia for a short time. New York City is the largest city in the US and is considered its financial center.
- The US does not have a recognized official language! However, English is effectively the national language.
- The American dollar is the national currency. The nickname for a dollar, "buck," comes from colonial times when people traded goods for buckskins!
- Because the United States is so large, there is a wide variety of climates and types of geography. The Mississippi/Missouri River, running primarily north to south, is the fourth-longest river system in the world. On the east side of the Mississippi are the Appalachian Mountains, the Adirondack Mountains, and the East Coast, next to the Atlantic Ocean.
- On the west side of the Mississippi are the flat Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains (or Rockies), and the West Coast, next to the Pacific Ocean, with several more mountain ranges in coastal states, such as the Sierras and the Cascades. Between the coasts and the north and south borders are several forests, lakes (including the Great Lakes), rivers, swamps, deserts, and volcanos.
- Several animals are unique to the US, such as the American bison (or American buffalo), the bald eagle, the California condor, the American black bear, the groundhog, the American alligator, and the pronghorn (or American antelope).
- The US has 63 national parks. The Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, and the Grand Canyon, with the Colorado River flowing through it, are among the most well-known and visited.
- Cuisine in the US was influenced early on by the indigenous people of North America who lived there before Europeans arrived. They introduced beans, corn, potatoes, squash, berries, fish, turkey, venison, dried meats, and more to the new settlers. Other influences include the widely varied foods and dishes of enslaved people from Africa and immigrants from Asia, Europe, Central and South America, and the Pacific Islands.
What's It Like to Be a Kid in the United States?
- Education is compulsory in the US, and kids may go to a public or private school or be home-schooled. Most schools do not require students to wear uniforms, but some private schools do. The school year runs from mid-August or the beginning of September to the end of May or the middle of June.
- Kids generally start school at about five years old in kindergarten or earlier in preschool and continue through 12th grade in high school. After that, many go on to university, community college, or technical school.
- Spanish, French, and German are the most popular foreign languages kids learn in US schools.
- Kids may participate in many different school and after-school sports, including baseball, soccer, American football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, and track and field. In grade school, kids may join in playground games like hopscotch, four-square, kickball, tetherball, jump rope, or tag.
- There are several fun activities that American kids enjoy doing with their friends and families, such as picnicking, hiking, going to the beach or swimming, or going to children's and natural history museums, zoos and wild animal parks, amusement parks, water parks, state parks, or national parks. Popular amusement parks include Disneyland, Disney World, Legoland, Six Flags, and Universal Studios.
- On Independence Day or the 4th of July, kids enjoy a day off from school, picnicking, and watching fireworks with their families.
- Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday in November when students get 2 to 5 days off school. Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are popular December holidays, and there are 2 or 3 weeks of winter vacation. Easter is celebrated in March, April, or May, and kids enjoy a week of spring recess around that time.
- Barbecued hot dogs or hamburgers, watermelon, apple pie, and ice cream are popular kid foods for 4th of July celebrations. Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are traditional Thanksgiving foods. Birthday parties with cake and ice cream are very important celebrations for kids in the United States!
THYME for a Laugh
Why does milk turn into yogurt when you take it to a museum?
Because it becomes cultured!
Lettuce Joke Around
The date on my vanilla must have expired.
It just doesn't make any scents!
Lettuce Joke Around
What do you call a fruit that goes into space?
A coco-naut!
That's Berry Funny
Why couldn’t the teddy bear finish his cupcake?
Because he was stuffed!
THYME for a Laugh
How do you tie up a cloud?
With a rainbow!
Lettuce Joke Around
What do you call an island populated entirely by cupcakes?
Desserted!
That's Berry Funny
What is hairy, brown and wears sunglasses?
A coconut on vacation!
The Yolk's On You
A pilot-in-training passed through a rainbow on their flight test.
They passed with flying colors!
The Yolk's On You
What is the only food that you are allowed to play with?
Yo-Yo Gurt!
