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How To Use Cupcake Liners: Paper, Foil & Silicone Liner Hacks
It’s a good thing that there are so many ways to use cupcake liners, because while I don’t make cupcakes very often, I do have a rather extensive collection of paper liners in my cupboard. When I spot really cute ones, I’m often helpless to resist buying them! :-)
Lucky for me, those paper liners are a versatile resource you can use for many other purposes than making muffins and cupcakes!
I’ve combed the web for the best and brightest ideas about how to use cupcake liners, and I’m excited to share what I’ve found! Once you’ve seen these brilliant uses for paper, foil, and silicone liners, you’ll never look at a cupcake liner the same way again!
11 Creative Ways To Use Cupcake Liners
Hacks For Paper Liners
1. Dress Up Gifts
As you probably know, I’m a big fan of homemade gifts. If you’re giving a gift in a jar, like homemade jam or a homemade hot cocoa mix, there’s an easy way to dress up your jar. Just place a cute paper cupcake liner over the top, and use a piece of baker’s twine to tie a sweet bow around it. Cute and festive, with minimal effort!
2. Portion Out Snacks
For parties and gatherings, it’s often easier to pre-portion out certain snacks and foods, rather than having to do it during the meal. Sturdy paper cupcake liners are perfect for this! Plus, there are so many cute options out there these days that you’re sure to be able to find liners that fit your party colors or theme.
3. Prevent Popsicle Drips
Since I am a lover of most frozen treats, I am also a big fan of popsicles. But I am NOT a fan of drippy popsicle stains! But there’s an easy way to avoid them — cut a small hole in the center of a paper liner, and slip it up over the popsicle stick to the base of the popsicle. The cupcake liner will catch any pesky drips, and keep them off of your clothes.
Related: Neat Ways To Enjoy Messy Foods
4. Decorate For A Party
Whether you drape them over your tree or around a room, garlands make a festive decoration during the holidays! And you can make your own garland quickly and easily with just some cupcake liners, string, and a stapler.
Gather up paper liners in various colors, styles, and sizes, then fold the liners in half to form a semi-circle. Layer the liners onto a long length of string until you find an arrangement you like, then staple them in place and hang your finished garland!
Related: “Why Didn’t I Think Of That?” – 4th Annual Holiday Edition
Hacks For Foil Liners
5. Flatten Them Into Mini Tart Pans
While you could easily just use mini tart pans, not everyone has those, so I came up with an alternative to the tart pan. Set a foil muffin liner on a flat surface, then use an 8-ounce jar (or with a similar sized opening) and press it into the center of the muffin liner. This will widen the opening of the liner so you can use it as a little tart pan!
Hacks For Silicone Liners
6. Keep Cup Holders Clean
Silicone cupcake liners are great, not only because they are reusable, but because they’re so easy to clean! Place silicone muffin liners into the cup holders in your car that aren’t normally used for drinks (AKA the ones you use for crumbled receipts and loose change).
When the liners look grimy, you can take them out and toss them in the dishwasher to clean them up. Think of all the time you’ll save when there isn’t any crusty gunk to scrape out of your cup holders!
Related: 17 Brilliant Hacks That Will Make Cleaning Your Car A Breeze
More Ideas You'll Love
7. Keep Foods Separate
A few of my kids were picky eaters when they were younger, and I’ve had several friends and family members who have had picky eaters as well. One of the most common complaints (in my experience) for picky eaters is that they HATE when different foods are touching each other.
If you are accommodating a picky eater, an easy way to pack lunches is to use silicone cupcake liners as dividers. The tacky silicone won’t slide against the container, so everything will stay in place.
Related: “Lunch Box Taco Bar” + 15 More Brilliant Ideas For Back-To-School
8. Use As Molds For DIYs
You can use silicone cupcake liners as molds when making any of these DIY bombs, bars, or disks:
- LUSH-Inspired Bath Bombs
- Fizzy Toilet-Freshening Bombs
- Clog-Busting Toilet Bombs
- Vicks Shower Disks
- Deodorizer Disks
- Homemade Lotion Bars
- Foaming Clay Soap
- Homemade Shower Jelly
9. Freeze Food In Them
Use silicone cupcake liners to freeze and store food items that you won’t use immediately, but want to hang on to, such as bacon grease, sauces, fresh herbs, and more. Put the silicone liners in a standard-sized muffin pan, and pour whatever you want to save into the liners. Freeze until solidified, then pop the frozen discs out of the liners and store them in a freezer bag
Related: How To Freeze 20 Foods To Save Money And Make Life Easier
10. Keep Ingredients Organized
Another food-related use for silicone cupcake liners is to use them as small containers when you’re prepping food. Rather than putting a couple cloves of garlic into a larger bowl, which will take up valuable dishwasher space later on, put them into a cupcake liner! No more double-loads of dishes after dinner.
11. Corral Small Items
Having a drawer with little items rolling around inside every time I open or close it will eventually drive me crazy. There are a million and one small containers you can keep small items in, but how do you get the containers to stay put?
One simple solution is to put those small items into silicone cupcake liners! The tacky silicone won’t slip around in the drawer, so your items will stay right where you left them.
Looking For More Posts Like This?
- I’ve written dozens of blog posts about creative alternative uses for everyday items, and now there’s a quick and easy way to peruse them!
- Check out all of my “Uses For” posts here.
What are your favorite ways to use cupcake liners?
More Ideas You'll Love
