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Paw Print Cupcakes – Applesauce Cupcakes with Applesauce Frosting

August 14, 2016 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

These fun Secret Life of Pets inspired Paw Print Cupcakes are delicious by themselves but also a healthy alternative to traditional cupcake recipe. Try these Applesauce Cupcakes with Applesauce Frosting today!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mott’s®. The opinions and text are all mine. #SecretLifeOfMotts

Applesauce-cupcakes

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

As a parent, I am constantly trying to make the best decisions for our girls and our family as a whole. Whether that decision is the type of toothpaste or body wash we use, staying up to date on car seat safety, or deciding on schooling, there is always a decision to be made. One decision we are faced with every single day though is what food we will allow in our homes and in our children’s bodies.

Skibbles, our toddler, is at the age where she really only wants sweets, snacks, and chicken nuggets. I know it is a phase that most children go through and it would be one that is easy to give in to every day. Not having to deal with the tantrums would be so much easier. However, being a parent isn’t about being easy, is it?  My goal is to create a balance and provide the most nutritious, yet fun, lifestyle I can for both our girls.

One way I do that is by making smart snacking choices for our girls. When I make things from scratch at home, I can make them cupcakes or cookies, and still know that I’m providing them nutrition. I love making applesauce cupcakes using Mott’s® Applesauce. It’s really the best of both worlds.  As a mom, I feel great about what I’m feeding her, even if she thinks it’s a treat. That’s real joy isn’t it?

motts applesauce pouches

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

While I grew up loving the individual Mott’s Applesauce Cups, our girls love the new Mott’s Applesauce Pouches that are available. Having these pouches and cups in our house allows our girls to make smarter snack choices, as well as developing a healthy habit of making the nutritious choice in the future when Andrew and I aren’t always around.

motts rebate

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

Mott’s is currently offering special packaging in partnership with the adorable The Secret Life of Pets movie. Right now you can purchase three and/or purchase five Mott’s products for free children’s tickets and $8 movie vouchers.

motts applesauce secret life of pets

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

  • Purchase any 3 Mott’s Juices or Applesauce to Receive a Free Child’s Ticket* (Mott’s on pack offer) for The Secret Life of Pets (*$9 child admission, restrictions apply)
  • Purchase any 5 Mott’s Juices or Applesauce to Receive an additional $8 movie voucher
  • Note: Offers can be stacked – Purchases of 5 are eligible to receive the Free Child’s Ticket as well as the $8 movie voucher
motts at target

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

You’ll definitely want to make sure that you head to Target to pick up your Mott’s Apple Juice and Mott’s Applesauce products, just like we did, for these great Cartwheel offers!

  • 7/31/16 – 9/3/16: All Mott’s® Applesauce 10% OFF
  • 7/31/16 – 9/3/16: All Mott’s® Juice 10% OFF

After you head to Target and pick up your products you’ll want to head into the kitchen to make these Paw Print Cupcakes aka Applesauce Cupcakes with Applesauce Frosting. Not only are they absolutely amazing (and a more nutritious option) but they are perfect to celebrate with before or after you go see the movie!

how to make paw print cupcakes

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

applesauce cupcakes recipe

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

paw print cupcakes

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

Here’s the recipe!

0 from 0 votes
Print
Paw Print Cupcakes (Applesauce Cupcakes with Applesauce Frosting)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
22 mins
Total Time
32 mins
 

These fun Secret Life of Pets inspired Paw Print Cupcakes are delicious by themselves but also a healthy alternative to traditional cupcake recipe. Try these Applesauce Cupcakes with Applesauce Frosting today!

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 385 kcal
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup Mott’s Apple White Grape Juice
  • 1/2 cup Mott’s Applesauce
For the frosting
  • 8 oz 1 package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup Mott’s Applesauce
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
For the paw prints
  • 12 Mini Peanut Butter Cups
  • 36 Chocolate Chips
Instructions
For the cupcakes
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar.
  4. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until just combined.
  5. Add applesauce and apple juice and beat until combined.
  6. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.
  7. Fill paper lined cupcake 3/4 of the way full.
  8. Bake from 20-22 mins or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
For the frosting
  1. Blend the cream cheese and butter until no lumps are left.
  2. Add in the applesauce, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg.
  3. Blend until combined.
  4. Add the powdered sugar and blend until everything is well combined.
  5. Using a piping bag, pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.
  6. Refrigerate or discard any leftover icing.
For the paw prints
  1. Cut each mini peanut butter cup in half. Using the wider half place in the center of the frosting.
  2. Above the cup, place four regular size chocolate chips, flat side up, in a crescent shape above the peanut butter cup.
Nutrition Facts
Paw Print Cupcakes (Applesauce Cupcakes with Applesauce Frosting)
Amount Per Serving (1 cupcake)
Calories 385 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Cholesterol 57mg19%
Sodium 325mg14%
Potassium 154mg4%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 34g38%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 510IU10%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 113mg11%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

These make great “muffins” sans the frosting and paw prints if you want a healthier alternative too!

Applesauce-cupcakes-recipe

“The Secret Life of Pets © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.”

Check out this site for more information about the special offers and recipe ideas. Then, head to Target to grab your Mott’s products today to make these and get geared up for The Secret Life of Pets. Make sure to submit your rebate for tickets and savings to enjoy the movie!

Filed Under: Desserts, Home, Recipes Tagged With: apple, cupcakes, desserts, recipes

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

April 18, 2016 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

pineapple upside down cupcakes

I remember growing up that having a Pineapple Upside Down cake was always a special treat. For some reason, I grew up thinking that it was some sort of difficult recipe to make.  I mean it had to be right?  You had to magically make this cake that after you baked it and inverted it that there were these pineapples and cherries perfectly and symmetrically placed on the, now top, of this cake.  It was like some sort of magic.

I can’t be the only one who thought this growing up was I?

Fast forward to about a year ago, and I finally realized that not only was this sort of cake insanely easy to make, but that making your own cake batter (no, not out of the box) was really easy as well.  WHY HAD I NEVER TRIED TO MAKE A CAKE FROM SCRATCH BEFORE!? Annnndddd….why did I not know that there were other fruit combinations to make upside down cakes with!? WHYYY had people been hiding this secrecy from me!?

mini chef mondays pineapple upside down cupcakes

My vow to my girls —>>> make all the upside down cake things while they are growing up.

Last Christmas, we went over to Andrew’s brothers house and his sister had made pineapple upside down cupcakes.

WHATTTT!?

mini chef mondays making pineapple upside down cupcakes

Again, I was left with this feeling of why? Why did I not know or even think of this before? So, I was determined to make them at home.  This recipe make 12 large cupcakes, so if you wanted them smaller you could definitely adjust for that.  They would be adorable as mini cupcake bites. We use strawberries in this recipe instead of cherries because not only is the flavor combination delicious, but *most* store bought cherries have a ton of red dye in them and we try to avoid dyes in our home. Also, because I once saw a documentary on how maraschino cherries are made and it weirded me out HAHA.

Anywho…. We made a family day out of this one and we all pitched in to help make these Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes.  Well, Baby just really enjoyed screaming until someone put more food in her mouth. Skibbles was so confused about why we were putting fruit in the bottom of the pan when I told her we were making cake and kept saying, “no, mama, I want cake”.  Luckily, she eventually saw that we really were making pineapple upside down cupcakes and the meltdown didn’t last too long.

how to make pineapple upside down cupcakes

0 from 0 votes
Print
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 1 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted, divided
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar + 1 tbsp divided
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 pint canned pineapple finely chopped (1/2 can crushed if store bought)
  • 3 large strawberries halved
Instructions
  1. *For the following recipe, we made 6 large cupcake. Adjust accordingly to make smaller ones.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. In the bottom of each cupcake tin, brush 1/4 cup melted butter evenly amongst the 6 tins.
  4. Evenly divide pineapple in a ring along each tin and place one half of a strawberry in center of pineapple.
  5. Take 1 tbsp brown sugar and evenly sprinkle on top of pineapple/strawberry mixture.
  6. In a bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients together with a whisk.
  7. Then add wet ingredients and whisk together until no lumps remain.
  8. Evenly divide mixture to each tin.
  9. Bake 25-28 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  10. Remove and let sit for 3 minutes.
  11. Invert pan onto a baking sheet and carefully remove.
  12. Let cool, serve immediately.

Don’t they just look delicious!?  What other flavors of “upside down” desserts have you made?

pineapple upside down cupcakes recipe

MCM Blogs

I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 8 fabulous bloggers! Read how Mini Chef Mondays started, plus how to link up!
Join our facebook group to find even more recipes and share recipes too!

Get featured and follow us too!
  • Pinterest: Each post/recipe linked up will be added to our Mini Chef Mondays board
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  • Twitter: We retweet every post with #MiniChefMondays

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well!

  1. Banana Split Smoothie // Courtney’s Sweets
  2. Old Fashion Lemonade Recipe // Momma Lew
  3. Homemade Limeade // Baby Loving Mama
  4. Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes // We’re Parents
  5. Encouraging Fruits and Vegetables for Kids // Eating Richly Even When You’re Broke
  6. Cookies & Cream Milkshake // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
  7. Easy Spinach Manicotti // Vegging at the Shore
  8. Make Your Own Omelette Bar // O’Boy! Organic
  9. Dinosaur Fossil Cookies // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up


Filed Under: Desserts, Home, Kids In The Kitchen, Recipes Tagged With: cake, cupcakes, mini chef mondays, recipes


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