Lemon Cupcakes

Cupcakes have been requested lately as a change from cookies. We like the recipe from Southern Living for orange cupcakes so well that I decided to try them as lemon flavored cupcakes. Everyone thought they were as good or better than the orange. I think maybe a combo of the two would be good also. Here is the recipe using Lemon instead of Orange. If you would like more just double the recipe. 

Lemon Cupcakes 

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs room temp.

½ tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ of a 8 ounce container sour cream (4 ounces)

Preparation

 Preheat oven 350°. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time beating until blended. Stir in Lemon zest and juice.

 Combine the flour and next three ingredients and add to butter mixture alternately 

with the sour cream starting and ending with the flour mixture.

 Spoon batter into lightly greased mini muffin pans (a rounded tablespoon) and bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of the cupcakes. 

 For regular cupcake pans lightly grease or use cupcake liners and bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans for 5 minutes and remove to cool on wire rack until completely cool, about 30 minutes.

Frost with Lemon Butter Cream Frosting

 ¼ cup softened butter

1 ½ ounces softened cream cheese

8 ounces powdered sugar

½ tablespoon grated Lemon zest (optional)

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice 

  Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy, gradually add powdered sugar alternately with the Lemon juice and milk, until desired consistency. Makes enough for 12 regular size cupcakes or 36 mini cupcakes.