Coconutty Chick Cupcakes for Spring + Easter Celebrations! What April Means To Me.

Momma Told Me: A holiday is about the people you spend it with, not the food you eat.

I often wonder how slow time would move without seasons- without those little celebrations peppered throughout the year to look forward to and plan. Granted, as a grown adult with not kids of my own, yet, I celebrate holidays a little different than I once used to as a little girl. Though, much like the eb and flow of seasons, everyone around me is now beginning their own little families in a cycle that is as old as time. Cousins, friends form high school, and current best friends are settling down and hatching their own little chicks. I suspect it will still be several years before I begin my own flock, but, for now, I indulge in celebrating the beginning of new life with the ones I love.

When I was a little girl, and actually the eldest grandchild of our family, we would venture up past Los Angeles every Easter to spend the afternoon with Momma's parents, Sister, and her family. Sometime after church we would arrive in town, stiff from the ride, and I would spill out of the mini van making a beeline for my grandma's foyer. Without fail, every Easter, the baskets would get larger and larger- she was always sure to see that our Easter baskets outdid us in size! Then we'd scour the front yard, side porch, and backyard for carefully colored eggs. I'd peek my head in the old outhouse (where Grandpa was always certain to hide at least one or two), peer between the lily pads in the pond, and check the cow-shaped mailbox. (Grandma's house was the most magical place!)

Nobody in our family cooked on Easter, it was a tradition. Any other holiday you would find Great Aunt Bea's famous fruit salad, Grandpa Vince's Peanut Sauce Pork Kabobs, and Grandma Pony's famous Glazed Ham. But Easter, Easter was a family holiday where we all put down the hustle and bustle of entertaining to come together over a hearty meal. As unconventional as it was, our entire family, from across the state, would file into the local City Of Industry Marriott, where a live piano would serenade us, and a buffet  that wrapped through two halls was waiting for us to feast. Every year, for 15 years, we would eat our Easter brunch at that Marriott.

As a child, the coolest thing about this tradition was trying to make the professional pianist laugh, and piling my dessert plate full of fruits and sweets to be dipped in the massive chocolate fountain. Truth be told, the food was never much to raise a glass too- I always preferred Grandma's cookies and Grandpa's burnt ribs to anything they ever served at those banquets. But the joy in my grandmother's eyes at seeing her entire family gathered before her, and the sparkle of knowing she wold not have to wash one, single, plate- was priceless.

As we approach Easter, no matter your religious background or personal beliefs- I feel EVERY holiday is a chance to take stock of what truly matters. A moment marked on the calendar to remember all which we are so very thankful for; my baby cousin all grown up and now with a baby of her own, my grandfather growing stronger every day in his journey without my grandma, and all of the wonderful memories of that special woman, still so very much alive in my memories today.

 Spring traditionally marks the beginning of something new and young- This year will be filled with many new life's in my family, personal and extended. To celebrate the spirit of the season I whipped up these Coconutty Chick Cupcakes. Much like a giant snowball, these inverted cupcakes are frosted on individual plates (with a daub of frosting as 'glue,' then turned upside down and rolled in colored coconut for 'feathers.' Creative liberties can be taken, but I found an almond serves as a fine beak, mini chocolate chips make great eyes, and fruity licorice can be thin slices for feet and accents. Whether you're a fan of coconut or not, it's hard not so smile at these little chicks sitting on your Easter table, this Spring!

What Daughter Says: Make some new memories over food, and craft these chick cupcakes with your family and friends.