When life gives you lemons...

Make lemon cupcakes!

They're a little more springtime-ish but when it's chilly and wet in January, who can resist these lemon cuties?  The recipe calls for safflower oil which can run pretty high in price, so a cheaper sub is canola.  Both oils help keep the amount of saturated fat down and the monounsaturated fat up.  I won't go into the science of fat, but monounsaturated is the stuff you want.

When I first looked at the recipe, I didn't like the sound of the powdered sugar-based icing.  We've always used that as Christmas cookie icing, so I didn't think I'd like it on a cake.  I was definitely proved wrong!  It makes a really easy glaze that dries smooth and it's prettily accented by the orange zest.

Zesting proved the most challenging for me since I do not have a good peeler or grater.  I just carefully shaved the orange and lemon with a good knife and then finely chopped the pieces which wasn't too hard. Also, I got plenty of juice out of just one lemon and one orange.

Since they're citrus cupcakes, I justified pairing one with my coffee this morning, and it was delicious, Enjoy!

*Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.


Cupcakes                                                    
1 2/3 c flour
1 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c safflower oil
2 eggs
1/3 c skim milk
1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Combine the oil, eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract in a separate smaller bowl.  Add to the flour mixture and stir until smooth.

Spoon batter into the muffin cups and bake for 17-19 minutes or until light golden.  Cool for five minutes before transferring cupcakes out of the pan to cool completely.

Icing
1 1/2 c confectioner's sugar
2 Tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest

Combine confectioner's sugar, orange juice, and orange zest in a bowl and stir until smooth.  Spread over each cupcake with a small spatula.