Huggable Christmas Cupcakes

My middle child needed a treat to take to cheerleading the other evening, so we decided to make mini cupcakes. We used this ‘souped up’ cake mix recipe, and wanted them to look festive. This is what I we came up with! I thought they turned out really cute, and they were so simple, so I thought I would share in case anyone needs something quick and easy this week. Since I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one running around like a crazy person…

The Hershey’s Hugs were the perfect size for the mini cupcakes, and we added Christmas sprinkles. Done and done! Miss Two got lots of compliments!

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

I made these cupcakes for my sister’s birthday and they were the BOMB.  The lemon curd absolutely made them.  That is some good stuff.  I had never tried it before but recently ordered it, along with some other goodies, from .  I’m in love.
 
These were super easy to make because I went for the quick and dirty version.  Boxed lemon cake mix, lemon icing, and prepared lemon curd.  Obviously, making everything from scratch would make it that much better.
I made the cake mix according to directions on the box, except I added the zest of one lemon.  Once the cupcakes were done, I used a melon ball scoop, and scooped out some of the cupcake (which I ate), and added a dollop of  lemon curd.  We topped the cupcakes with canned lemon icing (I say we b/c my 11 y/o helped with the icing, in case you were checking out the first pic and wondering.  Not that my frosting skills are all that.)  The icing is the thing I would change for next time.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the artificial lemon flavor of the canned icing, but I was worried the homemade icing would melt so quickly in the heat, and I was traveling with them. Other than that, they were awesome!  My mother declared them divine…and that is saying something as my mom is more of a chocoholic than I am!  I know, it’s not even possible, right?!
 
I am thinking about making these again soon, and instead of frosting, just add some cool whipped topping and fresh blueberries.  Lemon and blueberry is always a winning combo.  I could even make these “skinny” cupcakes by just adding a can of diet lemon/lime soda to the box of mix.  If you haven’t tried this…it works! I posted it here if interested.  So…..maybe I’m just gonna go now and make these before I attack the lemon curd with a spoon! 
And if you are craving a salty snack….go enter my giveaway HERE.
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