Watermelon Cupcakes

Every July, our church celebrates the 24th of July.

It's the day that the pioneers finally arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

The celebrations are all different, depending on where you live and what your

ward/stake (congregations/groups of congregations) decides to do.

In our current stake just outside of Seattle, they plan a big party for the afternoon.

There are bounce houses for the kids, games, and a pot luck where they supply the main dish.

Last year, we were really disappointed with how the day went.

I won't get into it much, but it was hot, everything was late, and we were hungry.

And it didn't seem to be very organized.

This year was so much better.  The weather was perfect (overcast and cool),

the girls enjoyed the bounce houses, and it started on time.

I volunteered to bring some cupcakes again this year.

Last year, if you recall, I made some cutie little covered wagon cupcakes.

But people tended to view those with suspicion.

I think they thought the white was paper and weren't interested.

And this year I wanted to take something that looked great and was more appealing, but

I couldn't think of a pioneer-ish cupcake.

So I decided to do a summery cupcake.

Watermelon won.

 Don't they look delicious?

I used a vanilla cake mix (because the store didn't have white),

made it as usual, but added a small box of watermelon jell-o for a hint of flavor,

and some pink food coloring for a better color.

 Then I stuck some cutie gingham paper to the bottom of these clear plates to make it seem

like a picnic tablecloth, topped them with some delicious 

vanilla buttercream frosting and a Sour Patch Kids watermelon candy.

They turned out great, and they were eaten quickly.

Always a good sign.