Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Ah cupcakes, how do I love thee?? With lots of frosting and served on the regular! I had knee surgery a few weeks ago so food at my house has been consisting of things I can throw in the crock pot that I put in the freezer pre-surgery, pizza, or burgers. There hasn't been a huge amount of yummy treats coming from my kitchen. You'd think that would reflect in a positive way on the scale but so far my chubbiness has increased exponentially with my limited mobility despite the lack of treats. Boooo!!

I was feeling pretty good and had a Sunday afternoon to kill while we waited for ribs to smoke (another post altogether) so these cupcakes made their debut. I think that the lime could have been a little bit stronger...possibly use regular margaria mix instead of strawberry or just increase the lime juice but overall I really liked them. I loved that there was a little salt on the frosting to help cut the sweet and give it that bit of margarita authenticness. Well,  authentic as a virgin margarita can be :)

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes 
2 dozen cupcakes

Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1/2 c. flour
4 large eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 c. strawberry margarita mix
1/2 c. pureed sweetened strawberries (I used frozen)
1/4 c. lime juice
1 small box strawberry jell-o


Frosting:
2 pounds powdered sugar
2 cubes butter (1 cup)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. pureed strawberries
3 Tbs strawberry margarita mix
1 Tbs lime juice

Garnish:
Margarita salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with wrappers and set aside
2. In mixer bowl combine cake mix, flour, eggs, oil, pureed strawberries, margarita mix, lime juice and jello. Mix on med for 3 minutes until batter is well combined and starting to get thick. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. I usually use a 1/4 c. measuring cup. Bake for 18-19 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on cooling racks
3. Prepare frosting: In mixer bowl beat butter until fluffy. Add strawberry puree on low and beat until smooth. With the mixer on low speed slowly add sugar. Alternate with the margarita mix/lime juice until well combined. Beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy. Pipe onto cupcakes. Garnish with a sprinkle of salt.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Once again I find myself making cupcakes to take somewhere. I need to find some originality somewhere but apparently it's not going to be tonight.

I saw this Strawberry Cake on PaulaDeen.com and of course had to break it up into cupcakes. I have always had a soft spot for strawberry anything and this seemed like a good bet for the 4th of July. It's pretty and festive and I had some really great cupcake liners that begged for pink frosting!

I was able to get about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes out of the recipe and they were just the right size for frosting. Sometimes I get carried away with the batter and fill the cups too full but I found that 1/4 c. is just about perfect. The frosting is yum as always. Can you really go wrong with cream cheese anything?? Not in my world.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
30 cupcakes
adapted from pauladeen.com
Strawberry Cake
1 white cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. pureed strawberries with sugar
1 small box strawberry Jell-O

Mix cake mix and Jell-O together. Add eggs, water, oil and strawberries. Beat on medium until well mixed and smooth. I prefer the batter to be a bit thicker and like to beat it until it's kind of fluffy. It's up to you, do what you want.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 min.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 c. butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c. strawberry puree
1 tsp vanilla
6-7 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add berries and vanilla, mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar until frosting holds its shape and is the right consistency to frost your cupcakes.

Garnish with strawberry halves if desired.

Linked to:
Totally Tasty Tuesdays 
Cast Party Wednesday

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Crunch

This was not so light but pretty yummy! Obviously you could use leftover homemade cookies if that is what you have on hand. It would be even better!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Crunch

POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
16 oz strawberries
6 item(s) Keebler Chips Deluxe, Chocolate Lovers
2 tsp orange zest
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Wash strawberries and orange. Grate zest and set aside. Cut strawberries into quarters add to orange zest.Sprinkle sugar on top. Mix well. Put berries in baking dish. Crunch up cookies and sprinkle on top. Drizzle butter over the top and bake for 7-8 minutes. Can top with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt. Count topping points separately.