Father's Day Arnold Palmer Cupcakes

Father's Day is coming up, and for those of you who don't have anything planned for him, this might be it. The cupcake itself is half lemonade and half iced tea flavored, just like Arnold Palmer. They look awesome and taste great too!

These cupcakes are designed to have you and your dad remember all of those memories you had with him on the golf green. The memories like all of those balls you lost in the water, or that sandtrap that somehow attracted just your ball. How about that course where you got your first hole-in-one? These cupcakes will help you and your father remember all those special moments together on Father's Day.

For this project, you don't need that much, just some basic cooking ingrediants and tools.


The ingrediants* for the cupcakes are:
- 2 1/4 cups Flour
- 1 1/3 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 cup Shortening
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Lemons
- 3 Tea Bags
- Food Coloring
* You will need to split the ingredients in half to make two different batches. With the exception of the lemons and teabags, all of the ingredients are going to be split to be used for two different batches.


The Ingredients for the Frosting are:
- 3 - 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/8 cup Milk
- Teaspoon of Vanilla
- 1/2 stick of Butter
- Food Coloring (green)


The Materials are:
- Assorted Measuring Utensils 
- Mixer
- Bowls
- Cupcake Pan
- Paper Liners
- Spoon
- Knife
- Juicer
- Oven

The first step is to put 1 1/8 cups of flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together. Then, add 1/4 cup of shortening, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat all of the ingrediants together for about one minute. The next step is to add one egg to the mixture. Beat with mixer for around a minute. Then, mix on the high speed for a minute. The next step is to take two lemons. First, use a grater to grate the lemon peel to get lemon zest. Add that to the mixture. Then, take the two lemons and cut them both in half. Collect juice from them using a juicer. Add to cupcake mix, and beat with the mixer for around 30 seconds. The final step is to take yellow food dye and add that to the mixture. It depends on what shade of yellow you want, but I added around 20 or so drops to get the color I wanted.

The first step is to put 1 1/8 cups of flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together. Then, add 1/4 cup of shortening, 1/2 cup of milk*, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat all of the ingrediants together for about one minute. The next step is to add one egg to the mixture. Beat with mixer for around a minute. Then, mix on the high speed for a minute. The next step is to add food coloring. I added 1 drop of blue, 1 drop of green, 2 drops of red, and 5 drops of yellow to get a pinkish-brownish color.

*Before you do anything, heat the 1/2 cup milk until hot to touch. Then, put the three tea bags of your choice in the milk and let them steep for ten to fifteen minutes. Remove tea bags before putting the milk in the cupcake mix. 

Once you have both of your cup cake mixtures, it's time to start baking them! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Next, grab a cupcake pan and line it with the paper liners. Then, fill it one third of the way with one of the mixes. I choose the iced tea mix to go on the bottom, but it doesn't really matter. Then, fill it up another third with the other mix, so for me, the lemonade mix. Leave about one third left, because the cupcake rises. When done filling them up, throw them in the oven for about 20 minutes.  A good way to tell if they are ready or not is to poke the center with a toothpick and if it comes out clean without anything sticking to it, the cupcakes are ready! 

After the cupcakes have cooled, it is time to frost them. The recipe is pretty simple. First, melt half a stick of butter in the microwave so it becomes soft. Then, add 1/8 cup of milk, 3-4 cups of confectioners sugar (depends on how dense you want the frosting), and one teaspoon vanilla. Blend together with mixer. Once done, add several (10-ish) drops of green food coloring. Mix that in as well so the frosting becomes a nice grass color. Once the frosting is completed, spread generously over the cupcakes. Wait for frosting to dry once done.

Once the frosting has cooled, you can now decorate your cupcakes!
-To make a sandtrap, simply take brown sugar and put some on.
-For a pond or lake, take a little of the left over green frosting and mix it with some blue food coloring.
-For the rough, take a toothpick, put some green frosting on it, and put it on the cupcake. Then make movements up.
-For the golfball and the hole, take a mini marshmallow, knead it until it becomes sticky, and coat it in confectioners sugar. For the hole, take a toothpick and dig a little one. Then, put white sprinlles in it.
-For the flag, take a piece of paper and cut a triangle. Tape or glue the triangle on a toothpick. 
-For the Happy Father's Day, I took the leftover blue frosting used to make the ponds/lakes and added more blue food coloring and some red food coloring to get a dark purple. Then, I took a toothpick, dipped it in the frosting, and used that to write the words.

Once the cupcakes are done, bring them over to your dad and thank him for all he's done. Enjoy this treat together for a memory that will last forever! Enjoy!

This is a great project that the whole family can enjoy making for their Dad. Kids love to decorate cupcakes, especially of they get to eat them too! Take the family out golfing or mini-golfing and bring these too for a perfect Father's Day!