Best Back-to-School Baked Goods

It’s finally August, and summer is quickly coming to an end. While we’re sad to see the poolside days and sunny rays go, this ending brings an exciting beginning: a new school year! Get your kids ready for the first bell with these three yummy treats! These back-to-school baked goods are perfect as a lunchbox surprise or as a new teacher gift.

PB&J Cupcakes

Did you know the average American eats 2500 peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school? PB&J is not only one of the most famous food pairings in the country, it’s also a school staple! Try these delicious-duo-inspired cupcakes for a surprise snack your kids will never forget!

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1¼ cup flour
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup butter (melted and cooled)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ⅓ cup strawberry jam

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place 12 cupcake liners into cupcake pan.
• In large mixer bowl, beat sugar with eggs. Add in flour, baking powder, milk, butter, oil, peanut butter and vanilla. Mix on low until creamy.
• Place 3 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes (or until toothpick comes out nearly clean).
• Cool cupcake pan for five minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan and allow to completely cool.
• With a cupcake corer or the wide end of a large piping tip, core out the center of the cupcake to make an area for the filling.
• Place jam into the center of each cupcake, then place a small piece of removed cake to cover jam.
• Frost cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (recipe below), then drizzle tops of cupcakes with jam and top with a mini peanut butter cookie.

Peanut Butter Frosting Ingredients

• ½ cup salted butter
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Peanut Butter Frosting Directions

• In mixer bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds, add in peanut butter and beat to incorporate.
• Add in powdered sugar and heavy cream and start beating on medium low. Move to high once combined so the powdered sugar doesn't go flying.
• Place frosting in a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Swirl frosting onto cupcakes.

School Bus Rice Krispies Treats

Even if your kids don’t usually take the bus, they’ll love taking these buses to school…in their lunchboxes! These Rice Krispies Treats school buses are as super simple and easy to make as they are cute!

Ingredients

• 8 Rice Krispies Treats
• 6 ounces yellow candy melts
• orange food coloring
• 6 Tootsie Roll Midgees
• 8 brown Mega M&M’s
• black food coloring marker

Directions

• Unwrap the Rice Krispies Treats.
• Melt the yellow candy melts and add some orange candy coloring to make school bus color.
• Glue two Rice Krispies Treats together using a small amount of the melted candy coating. Cut one end of the cereal treats to look like the front of the bus.
• Flatten the Tootsie Roll Midgees (you may need to heat them on low in the microwave for a few seconds to get them soft enough), and cut out small square windows for the buses.
• Pour or spread your melted candy over the treats. Scrape off any excess candy from the bottom of the treats.
• While the candy coating is wet, add the Tootsie Roll windows and the Mega M&M wheels.
• Set the Rice Krispies Treats school buses on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and put in the freezer for about five minutes, or until the candy coating hardens.
• Use a black food coloring marker to add details to your school bus treats. You can add lines or even write the name of the school district on the sides of the bus!

Apple-Shaped Cupcakes

At the beginning of a school year, teachers can get so many apples that they don’t know what to do with them all. Switch up your new-teacher gift with these adorable apple-shaped cupcakes! Could showing teacher appreciation be any cuter?

Ingredients

• cupcake mix of choice (and necessary ingredients)
• cupcake liners and muffin tin
• marbles or tinfoil
• red-colored frosting
• pretzel sticks
• green gumdrops

Directions

• Place your cupcake liners in the muffin pan. Roll your tinfoil into small 1/2 inch balls and place into each liner. They might pop out until you have your batter into the liners as well. These tinfoil balls will create the indents on the sides of your cupcakes. Alternatively, you can use a marble!
• Prepare your cupcake batter as your chosen mix directs. Pour the batter into your liners.
• Bake your cupcakes according to box directions and let them cool. Remove the tinfoil balls or marbles.
• Mix up some red frosting and frost your cupcakes. My favorite tool for this is an offset spatula, a small ½-inch-wide one, which is so great for spreading frosting.
• At the top of the cupcake indent, add a stick pretzel, pressing it three-quarters of the way through. (Be careful it doesn’t come all the way out on the other side.)
• Using kitchen scissors, trim down your green gumdrop into a small leaf size and place it next to the pretzel, on the frosting to help it stick.

Cake Decorator’s Essential Tool Set

Want to bring your cake decorating to the next level? The right tools are sure to make a huge difference. Professional bakers and pastry chefs have lots of talent, skill and experience, of course, but without the right tools, their results would be less than enticing. Shouldn't you have the perfect tools too? The best cake decorating tools are simple and affordable, so there's no reason to go without them. Once you've switched over to using top-quality cake decorating tools, you'll wish you did so much sooner!

Build your own cake decorator's essential tool set by investing in the following items:

• Decorating Tips - Open up new worlds of creativity with a nice assortment of decorating tips. There are tips that can be used to create all kinds of neat effects on cakes, including flowers, petals, stars, ruffles, leaves and basket-weave designs. Tips are affordable and come in a huge assortment of styles, so stock up on your favorites!
• Parchment Paper - If you've ever tried to release a cake from a pan only to have the bottom half tear apart from the rest of it, you know how frustrating it can be. All that hard work goes to waste! Put an end to the issue with parchment paper. Just cut it so it fits in the bottom of your cake pan for a smooth, easy release. Parchment paper can also be placed beneath a cake while covering it in fondant to keep the fondant from sticking and tearing.
• Cake Pads - Cake pads provide the strength and stability you need to move your cakes from place to place without incident. They're affordable and easy to use, so be sure to stock up on a few before tackling your next project!
• Sharp Knives - Although any sharp, precise knife will do, you can't go wrong with an X-Acto knife. In addition to using it to release a cake from the pan, you can use it to cut and add details to fondant to make a truly stellar masterpiece.
• Turntable - Whether you call it a turntable or a lazy Susan, this item is indispensable when it comes to decorating a cake professionally and easily. The days of awkwardly spinning a cake on a countertop are finally over.
• Off-Set Spatula - Once you've used an off-set spatula to spread frosting on a cake, you'll never go back to using a regular knife. Our customers love this 12-1/2” angled spatula.
• Straight Spatula - After spreading the frosting on a cake, give it that smooth, elegant style by using a straight spatula like this one.

There are lots of other great tools that come in handy when decorating a cake, and you can invest in them as you go!

Did we miss any of your favorite cake decorating tools? Let us know in the comments below!

Back to School Treats for Students and Teachers

You'd be hard-pressed to find a kid who's excited about going back to school after a long, fun-filled summer. A great way to smooth the transition for your child is by baking some creative, back-to-school-themed treats! You can let your imagination go wild in this regard, but it never hurts to get a few tips for inspiration. Also, these treats don't need to be reserved strictly for students. Teachers and other school officials will love being welcomed back to work with colorful, tasty treats too, so be sure to make enough for everyone!




Chocolates and Candies

There are so many neat school-themed molds out there that it would be a shame not to put them to good use! If you've ever used a candy or chocolate mold before, you know how easy it is. The hardest part is selecting one mold from so many different options! This is the type of project that your child can easily help you with too, so be sure to invite him or her to lend a hand in the kitchen.

Cakes

What could be cuter than a cake shaped like a school bus, huge crayon or other school-themed item? Not surprisingly, there are all kinds of school-themed baking forms out there, so all you have to do is choose your favorite one, whip up your favorite cake batter and bake it as directed. Once it's cooled sufficiently, let your imagination go wild with icing, frosting and other decorative touches. This is a great way to welcome back the students and to say thanks to the teacher for embarking on another year of instruction!

Cookies

Whether you tuck a few into your child's lunch or deliver an entire platter to his or her classroom on the first day of school, back-to-school-themed cookies are sure to go over in a big way. Just use your favorite cookie recipe — sugar cookie recipes are perfect for this — and invest in some creative, school-themed cookie cutters. Whether you create tiny, edible composition notebook cookies, globe cookies or something different, you'll love the results.

Once you've made your special back-to-school treats, whether they're cupcakes, cakes, candies, chocolates or cookies, package them up to make them even more delightful. It's easy to find treats bags that mesh perfectly with your school-related theme, or you could always tuck them into a colorful cake box or other container. If you'll be giving treats to the teacher, be sure to include a nice little card welcoming him or her back for the year. If your child participates in making the treats, that's even better! You'll have a blast making back-to-school treats, and your child will love bringing them to his or her school!

How do you plan to make the school year sweet? Let us know in the comments below!