Here Comes Peter Cottontail

When I think of Easter dinner I immediately think of a baked ham, macaroni and cheese, asparagus and a dessert that screams of spring. 

This year, we are in New Orleans celebrating Easter with family and friends and will be celebrating with a crawfish boil. I'll be sure to post pictures of the whole process in case you've never been to a crawfish boil yourself.

For an early Easter treat, I decided to try out these low fat carrot cake cupcakes I saw in Cook's Country magazine. I iced some in a lemon cream cheese frosting topped with little edible bunnies I found at Michael's last year and the rest I left un-iced as a quick breakfast option for the kids. I was surprised at how good these came out. The baby food keeps the batter moist and it had a wonderful spice to it. I think next time I may adds some dried cranberries or toasted walnuts to the batter. What's your favorite Easter dessert?

Reduced Fat Carrot Cake

from Cook's Country

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 4-oz jar carrot baby food

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 pan and line the bottom with parchment. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, baby food and sugar until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the oil to the egg mixture, while still mixing. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing until nearly smooth. Fold in the carrots. Spread the batter in the prepped pan and bake until a toothpick comes out almost clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.