Friday, November 21, 2008

Thanksgiving Teepee Cupcakes, revisited

Remember how I made these last year for the cub scouts? I figured I could try and cute them up a little bit for this year, as well as provide you with clearer instructions.

Aren't you excited?

[On a side note, the Husband has been mocking me all day because I have been touting my creativity for inventing these. He does not believe that I came up with them. It is surprising, yes, as I tend to not be all that creative. But these are my one and only contribution to the universe, such as they are.]

Yay me. And yay for you, universe.

So, let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Mix a cake mix according to the package directions. You will need to get a disposable aluminum baking pan. Turn the pan upside down and poke a few small holes (maybe a half inch wide). Fill your sugar cones two-thirds full of batter and stand them up in the holes in your pan like this:



They tend to topple as the batter rises, so you need to keep an eye on them in the oven. You may have to stick your hand in the hot oven and right the toppled ones. Be very careful when doing this. Hot ovens can burn you.

Stellar instructions, no?

Also, you should put your oven rack on the lowest shelf possible, so as to keep the tops from getting too brown. The bottoms will be very brown, but we will take care of that later on.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until the batter springs back lightly when touched. Remove from the oven and immediately snip off the bottom of the sugar cone (which will now become the top of our teepee). You must do this immediately when the cone is still warm and soft. Otherwise, it will break into pieces.


You can also snip off the cupcake if it's too rounded, ensuring that your teepee will stand flat. The bite you cut off goes in your mouth. Do not skip this step. It's very important. You must not discard those bites. Eat them. Eat them now, dammit.

Then take three pretzel rods and stick them on the top of your teepee. I used bamboo skewers and/or toothpicks last year, but a reader gave me the pretzel rod idea, which I totally like better [thanks, tallkate!]. I also found the whole pretzel to be a little long, so I broke each piece in half before inserting it into top of the teepee.

Your teepees will now look like this:

While they are adorable, they are not quite done. Melt a handful of chocolate chips in the microwave and stir until smooth. Dip the bottom of your teepee in the chocolate like this:


Doing that kind of seals the cupcake in and prevents our friend gravity from pulling it downward. Then roll it in green sprinkles for grass (or autumn leaf sprinkles for leaves), or pink barbie sprinkles, if that's your thing, and so on. I went for the grass and leaves. I'm such a traditionalist, I know:

Take a little of the melted chocolate and pipe around the pretzels to hold them in place (and provide a delicious bit of chocolate pretzel to eat later).

And voila! A happy little Indian village to decorate your table at Thanksgiving.


Any questions?

You're totally welcome, universe.

80 comments:

Linsey said...

On behalf of the universe, I would like to say thank YOU Stie. We are now officially living in a better place and you so totally invented these!

Annemarie said...

Love it. This may very well be the pack mtg activity for this month...seeing as how pack mtg is a mere 4 days away & i have nothing planned. Impressive, I know.
So, I thank you. So. Much.

Jenny said...

Those are great teepees. I read a lot of craft blogs and frequently visit Family Fun and this is the first teepee cupcake I've seen. I think that makes you "the" inventor.

Queen B said...

I am amazed at your creativity!!! Seriously...those are too cute. I've never seen anything like them. You are the inventor, for sure!!!!

Jenibelle said...

Very impressive. Scotty's birthday is in Dec, I have done snowmen cupcakes every year since he was five. Would you please come up with something new and exciting please? Your deadline is the 6th. Get working.

Stuart♥Maren said...

NOW you tell me! I had no idea these had cake in them... I totally would have snatched one!

Brindi said...

Those are so cute. My children will love making these for the Thanksgiving table.

Lindsey said...

The universe LOVEs you. You ARE the SECRET! :)

Caroline C. Bingham said...

Oh my life, I'm totally making those.

brooke said...

The universe owes you a solid. Now you just need to come up with a way to make the be 0 calories then we will really praise you. Nice work.

Hazen5 said...

So cute and they look so yummy too! My kids would love to make and eat them!

Nikki said...

You should submit these to Family Fun! I usually make these cupcakes from Family Fun http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40569
and my kids think it is our tradition, but it's so time consuming to cut out all of the fruit roll up feathers.

Time for a new tradition- "Stie's TeePees"!

Thanks for the inspiration!

Bridget said...

Those are pretty fabulous, friend. Now can you just make them zero calories. That'd be great.

CJ, The Purple Diva said...

Ah, see sis, this is what I love about you. You're always so informative and creative. And the tip about the hot oven, wow!
Thanks so much all the advice and wisdom! Wow, another year older and look how smart you are!
♥hugs♥

Rae said...

Those are officially amazing. I bow down to your immense creativity!

Lisa-Marie said...

Between these and your spider web cookies Martha better watch out! YOu are crafty whether you believe it yourself or not!

I will definitely be making these this year. I was sad I didn't get to them last year.

Michael said...

i always wished that there was more chocolate to it than that...but, cake makes a good filling, too.

Musings of a Housewife said...

Those are positively too cute for words! But they look like a LOT Of work.

Joy & Casey said...

Christie,
You are amazing! Why didn't you make these for us at Snow??? :)
~Joy

calibosmom said...

You are going to submit these adorable little teepee's to a magazine aren't you? How could your husband think you are not this creative? He's just jealous that he didn't think of it first.

danandcindy said...

Very Cool Blog Post! Exhilerating! Fascinating!

Travelin'Oma said...

You are the creative chef!

Lauren in GA said...

Perhaps, I am not at liberty to answer for the universe...but the blog world thanks you and I know the universe does, too.

I am bettin' the universe thanks you for your witty writing, even while posting a recipe...I know the blog world does.

Liz said...

Hey Martha, I mean Christie, we should make these for the kids when you come to my house for Thanksgiving 2009 . . . ?

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited about these little cuties! I signed up to bring misc. dessert item for my daughter's Thanksgiving feast and when I saw these I thought, "perfect!" My sweet daughter agrees. We'll be making them tomorrow. Can't wait!!

Cindy said...

Love the idea. My children will be thrilled to make these!

Unknown said...

These are so fun! And they look quite yummy too...

American Homemaker said...

Those are so cute! I totally wanna make them now.

Ida said...

You rock! I see a Martha Stewart appearance in your future.

AMY said...

The universe thanks you.

queenieweenie said...

so stinkin' cute!

Kristy said...

LOVE your directions even more than the recipe...I think! LOL

Ilene said...

I hope you take these pictures and stick them in a frame.

I would... and probably will after I make them myself.

Kimberly said...

Those are adorable! I think your contribution to the universe should be displayed in Martha's magazine. What a talented girl you are!

Anonymous said...

can you come live with me?

se7en said...

I have always tried to balance cone cupcakes, with disastrous effect... thank-you now I know how!!!

Anonymous said...

these are awesome!
I am not in the US and we don't celebrate thanksgiving or do anything much American Indian related but my twin girls are currently obsessed with Indians, tiger lilly and pocahontas - so they would love these! thanks!

Rae said...

OMG! I just saw you featured on the Crafty Crow!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I love your sense of humor in delivering the tutorial for these teepee cakes! You are awesome and this part of the universe thanks you!

Kristin said...

these are so great, I'm truely impressed, thanks for sharing.

ShareandRemember said...

Hi there,
Love your teepee cupcake creation. I made them last night for my day care kids to have today before Thanksgiving. I didn't have a foil tray to bake them on so I used my angel food pan with tin foil crunched up around them to hold up the cones. Worked wonderful! No tipping while baking. I put pics on my blog: http://damonandstacy.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-made-teepee-cupcakes.html

Thanks for your great idea!

Manderly Ringor said...

My universe thanks you! :) However I have no time to make these by tomorrow, so next year I am gracing our table with these fantastic creations! Have a great Thanksgiving!

ThatBrunette said...

As a member of the Universe, I accept your gift. I promise to follow the instructions very carefully. Especially the parts about the hot oven and extra bits of cake.

Unknown said...

My girls and I just finished making these for tomorrow. They are adorable! Thanks!

Lisa-Marie said...

Question....

Can you make these the day before? I've made cupcakes like these in the cake cones and by the next day they are soggy? does that happen with these? i'm hoping to make them tonight.

Anonymous said...

I made these the day before Thanksgiving and had to clean the oven out afterwards because I had a lot of spillage! Egads! I used a loaf pan with scrunched up aluminum foil....I couldn't get the pie tin to work. I loved the idea from DSBRansom to use an angel food pan and will try that next time. The kids LOVED them, just my execution of the wonderful idea was flawed! Keep the good ideas coming!

Anonymous said...

Those are very cute! Congrats on your creativity!

These would be great for when kids are learning about Plains Indians. If you want to make a treat that relates the Indians in Plymouth (of the "first thanksgiving"), you need to make wigwam cupcakes. This is your assignment for next year! :)

Unknown said...

so adorable!!! I have a million of these cones around, great idea for them! thanks!

hugs! Kim @ Frost Me!/Party Frosting!
party inspiration

Mommyof2girlz/StephD said...

Just popped over from Maddycakes Muse. This is such a sweet idea thank you for sharing!!

~Isabel said...

I came to visit from Liz's Cupcake Corner from Hoosier Homemade. So glad i came!!

I needed to laugh this morning, and your instructions, LOL, did it for me!

I'm going to try and take my "craft-baking-challenged-self" and make these beauties!

Anonymous said...

I have to bring in the snack for the my daughters kinder class the week of Thanksgiving. I am so making these! Thanks.

Emily Carter said...

I love these, and I have starred your tutorial to read when I need a good laugh! I found you on Madycakes Muse. Wonderful idea! I may have to use this.

Emily
WhipperBerry.com

following HIM said...

LOVE your contribution to the universe !! WAY TO GO !! :)

little mama baker said...

how long will these last? can they be made in advance?

Christie said...

Little Mama Baker:

I believe they would do well for 2-3 days if you put them in an airtight container. I have never tried to make them much further ahead. I am sure they would freeze well, too. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Loved reading you instructions! Bad day, but you humor has really lightened my mood.

Mimis Lootbags said...

wow-such creativity-love it a lot!

Gogocan said...

My life goal is to be the "fun grandmother". Thanks for your help!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

I saw this on Pinterest. Just had to come over and tell you I love it! laurie

Anonymous said...

I usually make gingerbread houses with my nieces on Thanksgiving evening. Believe these will be the project of the year now! Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, these are so cute and I hope to enjoy these with my grandchildren and daycare children as well.

themcclanahans said...

Just wanted to let you know that you are a ROCK STAR on Pinterest! :) I pin these 7 weeks ago, and have almost 100 'repins'!

There will be lots of adorable thanksgiving treats going around this month! Thanks for sharing your creativity!!

Anonymous said...

Well, they're cute but Wampanoag Indians didn't live in tee-pees. They would be great for a lesson on the Plains Indians but not for Thanksgiving. Lumping all tribes and ways of life together is a but culturally insensitive.

Michael said...

Have you ever punched those Chinese characters into Google translator? "I Love You" and "gg" have very dirty minds.

Anonymous said...

where did you get your sprinkles?? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

LOVE these :)

Bonnie and Trish @ Uncommon Designs said...

Just wanted to let you know we featured this on our blog today! Happy Thanksgiving!

http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-appetizers-and-sweetsyum.html

Anonymous said...

Thank you for having all the directions for making this fun dessert for Thanksgiving and suggesting it for cub scouts. We have 15 Webelo II boys that would love to have this at their last December meeting.

jessica said...

anyone know how many the recipe makes?? I need to make 35.

Anonymous said...

I am making these as we speak...and I'm on my 2nd batch. I tried just sticking the cones in the rack of the oven but as she said...they tip over and all the cake mix went to the bottom of my oven and caught fire!!
I got smart and this time I stuck them on the oven rack, put a pan underneath and a glass pan up against them to keep them steady! Works perfect!
Thanks for "inventing" these!!

Kara said...

Tried making these tonight for my son's class, but as you said, they toppled easily. Couldn't save them and the stove is a mess...smoke everywhere! I will trying doing them again sometime and use some of the ideas in earlier comments to keep them from falling over. So disappointed my son can't bring them in tomorrow. :(

Irene said...

Thank you!! Xoxo

kim f said...

What a great idea... Love it. My niece posted pictures out on facebook and I just had to have the recipe.. thanks for the cute idea. I think the kids will love it!

Anonymous said...

I used a large deep roaster pan and made the holes larger so the cone sat snug in, they did lean a little but did not topple. On my first batch it started smoking from the burning of the bottom of the cones, so.......I put foil on by rack and not only did it prevent spillage from burning on the bottom of the oven it prevented the cones from burning/ smoking.

Ms. K said...

Thank you for sharing your recipe. I just made these and they turned out beautifully. I hope they taste as good as they look. I am going to post a picture of them on teacherblogspot.com. I used the foil pan to bake them, but I put them on the top rack half way through baking because the cones were burning, but I was able to cut the burnt part off.

Keelee said...

Hey! My daughter and I are making these right now! Baking has proved to be very tricky, but the finished product is adorable! I hope I have the most original dessert at the dinner :D Thank you!

creative1 said...

My 4th grade class is studying the Plains Indians and they just made their own tipis in class today. I can't wait to surprise them with these treats on Monday!

Anonymous said...

I wrapped a heavy deep roasting pan of mine with a layer of foil then a couple of layers of wax paper and then another couple of layers of foil, just to keep it all together. I poked fairly large holes in the top and put the cones in as far as they would go. I had not tilting! It worked wonderfully!

Laurie R said...

This is a damn good idea and I promise to eat all discards!

Maria Regan said...

Very creative, cute and probably delicious. However, also culturally insensitive and historically inaccurate. There is no connection of teepees and Thanksgiving. None. Teepees are Prairie Indian structures. The tribe associated with the first Thanksgiving, the Wampanoags, are Eastern Woodland Indians. No teepees in the Eastern Woodlands. Doesn't matter? All Indians are the same? Well, that's why these are culturally insensitive. They are not the same. About as similar as the Irish are to the Russians. Different language, culture, art, folklore, music, etc. I could go on as to how using a culture's symbols and things associated with that culture as merely objects for our "delight" and as a basis for a "kid-friendly" recipe demeans that culture. That will wait for another time.