I'm Not Above Bribery!

I am rushing! It is 2:40 p.m. and I am suppose to leave for the airport at 3:15 p.m. I have just spent the last 2 1/2 hours making and decorating homemade cupcakes for the basketball team.

Why do I do this to myself? The Boy told me just the day before that the basketball team was having a Pre-Season party to reward all the boys who have been conditioning for the past two months. He did not sign up to bring anything!

WHAT was he thinking. First of all, I love stuff like that. Second of all, has he not heard the saying, a way to a man's heart is through his stomach? Tryouts were the very next week. So, despite the fact that I only had less than 3 hours before my flight, I whipped up some homemade cupcakes. I am not above bribery!

Maybe better bakers would have a supply of fancy flours on hand and could whip up some cupcakes from scratch. I am a busy Mom, so I keep a supply of box mixes on hand. A few months ago I read a blog post (gosh, I wish I had bookmarked it!) about doctoring up a box mix. It was pure genious and makes a huge difference.

So, I am going to share her knowledge with you, my friends.

There are things that you should do to a box mix, every time to achieve a better, richer, moister cake. They are not hard things. But they create a huge POW!

First of all: ignore the instructions on the back of the box as to what you should add to the mix. Then add:
1/2 cup of oil

1/2 cup of other liquid. {The box instructions say to add water. But water has no flavor. So zest it up. Get creative. Even milk is better than water. I have used soda, tropical fruit juice, thawed lemonaide consentrate, and even chocolate sryup.}

1 standard size package of pudding mix {just the mix, and match it to your cake flavor}
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs

After you add all these new ingredients to the box mix, mix it up and bake it just as the box says you should.

I chose to make a variation of cupcakes in a jar. I did not want to send glass jars to cookout with high school boys so I put the cupcakes in decorative plastic glasses. After baking the cupcakes, in liners, you remove the liners, cut the cupcakes in half. To assemble, you put half of a cupcake in the glass/jar, add some frosting, then another cupcake half, and top with frosting.

This dessert could potentially become heavy on the frosting, so I was careful to just put one loop of frosting in between the layers. I put just enough to show through the glass. I added a fork and loaded up the car to head out to the school to deliver the cupcakes. With 35 minutes to spare, I find myself rushing out to the high school.

I walk in a total and complete mess. I have powdered sugar on my shirt. There is even shortening smeared on the upper left corner of my shirt. Vanity is out the window. I find a coach and explain that The Boy did not sign up to bring anything to the cookout so I brought these for him.

The coach, without taking his eyes off the cupcakes in a glass says, "Did you make these?" I answer him, not taking my eyes off my horribly dirty shirt, "Yes!" The coach then says, "WOW, these look amazing!" To which, I say, looking straight at the coach, "Then consider this a bribe!"

We both laughed! Do you think he knew I was being serious?

I made it home with five minutes to spare.



I am also happy to report, although my story may make you chuckle, The Boy made the basketball team. He honestly did work very hard for it and I am super proud of him. But in this Momma's head; it was the cupcakes that did it!