Recently, we were at the mall and saw something I have a hard time resisting. A children’s cooking kit that was on sale for a fraction of its original price. So when my daughter started waving that cupcake baking and decorating kit in front of me at the store, I had to get it.

Even though cupcakes aren’t a healthy option for kids, I figured making them ourselves instead of buying them at the store is in keeping with my Sustainable Kitchen Project. Plus, the cupcake pan made teeny tiny cupcakes, so that is in keeping of my feeling that it’s OK to indulge in moderation. Plus, it just looked like fun.

The kit itself was actually impressive for something from the cheapo shelves at the bookstore. It came with a cupcake baking pan that surprised me with its weight and quality. It came with a little chef’s apron (actually too small to fit my 5-year-old, but a perfect fit for my 2-year-old daughter). It came with icing piping kit that is actually pretty flimsy, but that my 5-year-old thought was pretty cool.

The best thing about it was, in fact, the cupcake baking and decorating cookbook. It has an impressive range of photo illustrated instructions and recipes ranging from choco-peanut butter cupcakes on the bad-but-so-good side and Zippy Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes as one of the great healthy cupcake alternatives. The book also has a kickstand so you can prop it up on the counter!

I was impressed with this product and would love to tell you where to find it. I just spent 20 minutes scouring the web to find this thing for nothing, so it must be discontinued. The cookbook mentions Flying Frog Publishing, which I also can’t find online. But just FYI if you see this on the cheapo shelf of your own local bookstore and want to buy it.

So we set out to make the cupcakes. My daughter chose the white cupcakes simply because there were instructions on using food color. We bought some fun neon food colors. To be more sustainable, I decided to use manual beaters to make the cupcakes. All I have to say on that point is power is a good thing. I felt good about using something that didn’t require power, but my wrists weren’t thanking me during or afterwards.

I also never realized quite how many steps are involved in making a basic cupcake, but it was a whole lot of fun. Between preparing the batter for the cupcakes, then cooking them, and then making the icing, and then cleanup, it really is a commitment of a good, solid hour. It never got boring, though.

My daughter lobbied pretty hard to making the cupcakes pink, but I vetoed it because our lone boy always gets subjected to girlie stuff. I thought we’d make it a little less girlie and we went with purple icing, and a purple-blue cake.

The icing, too, didn’t turn out so hot. It tasted great, but I think my substitution of banana extract may have curdled the icing. I’m really not sure, but it definitely would not go smooth no matter how much we mixed. But in the end it didn’t matter.

After all that work, we each got one miniature blue and purple cupcake with a hint of banana flavor. The kids were all abuzz about our little cupcake snack. It was fun, and I felt good about making it from scratch instead of snatching it off a shelf at the grocery store.

Of course, we won’t be making cupcakes daily. Or weekly for that matter. At least we know we can do it ourselves.