9 Fun Treats to Bake Instead of Cupcakes

by Amy · October 29, 2019

Most moms will agree that there is nothing more frustrating than a child who is a picky eater. You try to make them happy with a healthy treat, and it turns into a screaming fit with food all over the ground.

In fact, 20% of children are picky eaters, which means that as a mother, you must be creative with fun treats in order to get your child to eat certain foods. You also don’t want to feed them the same sweets such as cupcakes over and over again, which can lead to cupcake overload and a craving for something different.

So when it comes to events like birthday parties, what kind of fun treats can you bake instead of cupcakes, and be assured that your child will actually want to eat it?

Keep on reading to learn more fun treats to serve, and perhaps have them be the star of the birthday party!

1. Rice Krispies Treats

Not only are rice Krispies treats easy to make, but they are also super delicious and free of many common food allergens! All you need to make Rice Krispies treats is the box of the cereal itself, a bag of marshmallows, and butter.

The recipe is easy, 6 tbsps of butter, and 6 cups of both marshmallows and Rice Krispies. Melt the butter, add the marshmallows, let it cool then add the cereal. Press it into a baking dish, cut and serve!

There are many variations of this recipe you can follow, such as adding peanut butter to the recipe, or even chocolate chips!

2. Zucchini Brownies

There is nothing a parent wants more than to get their child to eat more vegetables, willingly. These zucchini brownies are a great way to sneak some nutrients into a delicious treat, which will make you feel better when they are asking for more!

Simply follow your typical brownie recipe, but instead, add some shredded zucchini. You will want to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini by using a cheesecloth first, or else the batch will be very messy.

3. Chocolate Dipped Bananas

Everyone loves bananas, and almost everyone loves chocolate. Put them together, and voila! You have a delicious (and healthy) treat that most children can enjoy, allergy-free!

Take half a banana, push a popsicle stick into it, dip it into nut-free chocolate, then freeze it on a baking dish. If you are not worried about nut allergies, you could dip the banana into peanut butter as well, or add some nuts to the chocolate.

4. Pudding Popsicles

Pudding popsicles are always a hit, and they are super easy to make. Make two batches of pudding, one chocolate flavor, and the other one vanilla. Pour one flavor into popsicle molds or paper cups, only filling up halfway. Add them to the freezer for about 20 minutes, then add the other flavor, adding a popsicle stick to set.

5. Muffins

While these may seem close to cupcakes, they are, in fact, quite different. Muffins are typically more of a healthier choice than cupcakes, and there is a multitude of flavors you could choose from!

Some of the most popular muffin flavors for children are:

Chocolate chip (of course!)
Banana
Carrot Cake
Blueberry
Cheese
Cinnamon Raisin
Pumpkin
Raspberry with cream cheese
Apple Cinnamon
Cherry and Chocolate
Double Chocolate
Berry Delicious

There are many choices, the best answer is to know the children that you will be serving, or ask the parents for any allergies. This way you can ensure that your muffins will be a hit amongst the kids and the parents too!

6. Cake Pops

Cake Pops are the best party treat, they are small enough to have more than one, and they are very easy to make. The best part is that you could have the kids decorating their own, which makes it more of a creative and fun hands-on experience.

Some popular choices for cake pops are:

Peanut Butter Chocolate
Cinnamon Bun
Red Velvet
Cheesecake
Strawberry Shortcake
Brownie Cake
Carrot Cake
Key Lime
Smores

Have fun with the cake pops, and use this as a time to play with your creative side. There are many different molds or cutouts for cake pops, such as hearts, cones, or footballs, so enjoy!

7. Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry Shortcake is a much healthier option than cupcakes, and one of the easiest fun treats to make. For this choice, you can make many little shortcakes instead of one larger one, which will save you trouble and the mess.

If you want to make this really speedy, you can easily grab a bunch of little sponge cakes at your nearest grocery store. If you want to do the baking, there are many delicious recipes for sponge cake online.

Then all you have to do is top the cakes with sliced, fresh strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream, and serve!

8. Mini Cheesecakes

There aren’t too many people who will turn down cheesecake, especially a little bite-sized version! To make mini cheesecakes, you can follow the same recipe for the regular sized one, but instead, you will be baking it in a muffin tin.

Press the graham cracker crust into the muffin liners, then add the filling flavor of your choice, bake, serve, and enjoy!

9. Cookies

There is not a single child out there that would turn down a cookie, which is why this is the safest bet out of all the fun treats on this list. You can easily make these cookies free of the typical food allergens, then you will not have to worry if your child wants to bring them to school.

There are many resources available online to use replacements for common allergens, such as the Foods Guy, check it out!