Do You Have To Use Cupcake Liners?

Cupcakes are the perfect treat to volunteer to make for your kid's elementary school bake sale or for a post soccer match victory celebration on the sidelines. Whether you make them from your favorite box mix or whip-up some homemade cookie dough cupcakes from scratch, cupcakes are always a crowd pleaser. Of course, as easy and convenient as baking these mini cakes can be, there are plenty of mistakes you want to avoid when making them.

It's easy to forget to preheat the oven or set your oven to the wrong setting, but as Livestrong notes, this pitfall could literally sink the centers of your cupcakes. And then there is the overzealous cupcake froster who wants to start frosting cupcakes the minute they come out of the oven. But as Baking Nook explains, if you don't let your cupcakes cool for at least 40 minutes before frosting, you will end up with frosting dripping off your cupcake as it melts like a scoop of ice cream on a cone on a hot Fourth of July. 

But those aren't the only cupcake catastrophes you might have to contend with it: What if you run out of cupcake liners? Are they optional?

According to Kitchn, the question is really whether or not your should use cupcake liners — and the answer is yes, that is, if you want to avoid your cupcakes getting stuck to the pan and the mess of cleaning it up. Not using cupcake liners could mean you have to make a whole new batch, and that's just a waste. However, the cooking site also notes if you don't have cupcake liners, you can grease your cupcake pan with butter to avoid the clean-up. Leaf.tv says that if you choose to use butter to grease your cupcake tin, you will want to melt just a few teaspoons and then lightly coat the circular cups using either a pastry brush or a paper towel. 

Additionally, the Kitchn suggests fashioning some DIY cupcake liners out of parchment paper if you find yourself without cupcake liners. Leaf.tv concurs that this is a great option and is easy to do. They will look similar to the fancy ones you find wrapped around muffins in coffee shops. And don't worry about these self-made liners burning. Leaf.tv notes parchment paper is just as oven safe for cupcake-making adventures as it is for cookies.