Monday, September 27, 2010

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes to take to our Guardian Angel Program picnic.

The Guardian Angel Program is a program where adult church members are assigned a specific school-kid to pray for and to give special treats to for that school year.  The child's Guardian Angel is a secret until they are revealed at the yearly picnic.  It is great fun and a very special lady, Jane, is the coordinator.

I originially found this recipe at http://www.potsandpins.com/ .  I tweaked it a little, especially to make the cupcakes more "pink".


Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 Tablespoons thawed pink lemonade concentrate
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 drops red food coloring
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins.

In a large bowl combine sugar, butter, lemon zest, lemonade concentrate, food coloring and vanilla.  Beat until well blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients, mixing with a whisk.

Add flour misture to sugar mixture, alternating with milk.   Mix only until blended.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners (fill them fairly full) and bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Cool completely before frosting.  Makes 24 cupcakes.

Pink Lemon/Cream Cheese Frosting

2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Teaspoons lemon zest
2 Teaspoons thawed pink lemonade concentrate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 drops red food coloring
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I needed more than this.)
Pink Decorating Sugar

Combine in a bowl at high speed the butter, lemon zest, lemonade concentrate, vanilla, food coloring and cream cheese.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar at a low speed and best until well blended.  (You'll probably need additional powdered sugar to get the consistency desired.)  Chill frosting for one hour before using.  Spons into a Ziplock bag, snip one corner and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle pink decorating sugar on top.

Regrigerate, loosely covered, but serve at room temperature.

I took some different colored bendy straws and cut them down to add a little bit of decoration to the top of the cupcake.  They were a hit and the kids loved picking out the straw colors.

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think!


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9 comments:

  1. I am on such a cupcake kick lately. I think I said something very similar on you Dr. Pepper cupcake post...LOL! By the way, the boys loved them.

    These sound especially yummy. I love anything citrus! Gonna have to give them a try sometime soon. I don't think they'll fit into my eating plan right now...especially since I just started counting points again today...but soon. ;)

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  2. What a fun idea. I'll bet the kids love the program! Are the Guardian Angels people who have children at home still? Or are their children all grown?

    I'm just curious if you had any GA who still had small children at home and yet participated anyway.

    I loooove cupcakes, especially pink ones! Thanks for linking up to Making Your Home Sing Monday!

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  3. These are so stinkin' cute! I will save this for the depths of winter when I think they will give us a warm smile. Thank you!

    Found you through RH Homemaking Link-Up.
    Patty

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  4. These are so stinkin' cute! I will save this for the depths of winter when I think they will give us a warm smile. Thank you!

    Found you through RH Homemaking Link-Up.
    Patty

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  5. Thanks for sharing the recipe! A local bakery sells pink lemonade cake squares only during the spring and the rest of the year I really get cravings for them. Can't wait to try these! (From RH Link)

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  6. These sound delicious, and I love the little straw!

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  7. OH, these sound wonderful. I love your presentation, soooo cute. I bet that frosting is incredible.

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  8. Precious cupcakes! The recipe looks very good.
    Thanks for sharing. God Bless You

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  9. Oh, I wish I would have seen these earlier in the summer. They look great and sound like they would taste yummy. I'll have to bookmark these for later. Thanks.

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