Fast Food Baking

I don't know about you, but this looks like one "happy meal" to me! There's nothing quite like sweet sliders made with cupcake buns, brownie burgers, frosting condiments and sugar cookie fries, especially to kick off the summer season!  Aside from the deliciously decadent flavor and super cute presentation, the best part about this fast food baking project is how easy it is! All you need is a box of brownie, cake and sugar cookie mixes, a few cans of frosting and some food coloring to whip up these fun treats that are sure to impress everyone at your next summer barbeque!  Start by whipping up your brownies as you normally would -- you'll cut out small circles from the pan to create mini "burger patties" later, after the brownies cool.  Next, throw a batch of cupcakes in the oven using yellow cake mix. Make sure to use clear or yellow paper cupcake liners to avoid browned sides, making your "buns" look even more realistic!  Then, whip up your sugar cookie dough, roll it out and cut it into thin strips, resembling french fries. Sprinkle some sugar (like salt!) on top and bake the strips according to your sugar cookie dough instructions. The strips will spread as they bake, so to make them look even more like "skinny" fries (rather than steak fries), cut each fry down the center as soon as they come out of the oven. Sprinkle a bit more sugar on top, and ta-dah! You've got sugar cookie fries. 

To assemble, halve each cupcake and place your circle brownie cut-outs in between the cupcake buns. You'll have some leftover scraps from the brownies... I trust you'll find some way to make good use of them ;). Divide your canned frosting into three bowls and color each bowl with red (ketchup), green (lettuce) and yellow (mustard) food coloring. Pipe the frosting on the outside rim of the brownie patties so that the colors will show outside of the bun. Place the top of the bun on and press gently. And voila... you have fast food cupcakes!  Don't you think these would be just perfect for summer cookouts? Memorial Day and Fourth of July desserts will never be the same.  Happy Baking! :) Many thanks to Bakerella for providing the inspiration for this fabulously fun recipe!