This Week's Treat: Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Since I am as of now unsuccessfully sticking to my resolutions about losing weight  (i.e. I lost 12 pounds and then promptly gained them all back) I've decided to cut back on treating myself. So, I have designated Sunday as my treat day. It is also to be my hobby day. So I've settled on baking one yummy thing every Sunday and enjoy it!

This week I was feeling pretty summer-y, or at least wanting to, since it is around 50 degrees and raining out. Texas winter is oh so mild compared to what we're used to in CO - no snow!?!? That was an adjustment.

Anyway, my spring/summery mood led me to make some deeelicious strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Lemon anything is fantastic, in my opinion, but adding strawberries just makes it that much better.

The Cupcakes:
1c Sugar
6 tbsp Butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2c Flour
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2c Milk
Grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

Preheat to 350. Cream your butter, sugar, and eggs until smooth. Add vanilla and lemon zest.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add half the ingredients, mixing until juuuuuust combined, then add milk. Add in the rest of the ingredients.

Pour into greased cupcake tins about halfway - these rise really nicely. Bake for 20 minutes ON THE NOSE. They will be done and beautiful - promise!

Strawberry Buttercream

2 sticks butter, room temperature
3c Powdered Sugar (+1c on standby!)
2tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4c Chopped Strawberries (TIP: Chop these as teensy as you can!)
More lemon zest!! (2 lemons)

Cream butter until smooth in electric/handheld mixer. Add the powdered sugar slowly until mixed. Add vanilla. BEFORE you add in the strawberries, make sure you pat them down to get rid of excess water. Add them in to the mixture, and mix on HIGH. Add in zest. If you get some runny buttercream, add in the rest of the powdered sugar.

If you find your buttercream was waay to runny, go ahead and make them 'filled' cupcakes - inject the frosting mixture into the cupcake.. So yummy! (I might actually prefer it this way!) And then frost with regular vanilla store-bought frosting, if you like.

Next week...I'm thinking toffee!