Strawberry Cupcakes with Cool Whip Frosting

I've always found strawberry cupcakes to

be particularly challenging because it's usually pretty hard to get a good

strong strawberry flavor. I've seen a lot of recipes that use strawberry jell-o

and that works for some people but I'm not a fan, it's way to artificial for

the flavor. I used food coloring in the Cool Whip as I'm sure you realized

because I really wanted to add color to the frosting but I typically prefer

natural colors (which is why the cupcakes themselves aren't pink). This batch

also only makes about 5 cupcakes so it's perfect for a few people getting

together who want some dessert.

In these particular cupcakes I had a bit

of fun and used Mott's strawberry applesauce. You could also use some

strawberry puree instead of the applesauce but you would really only need to

puree one or two strawberries since the recipe makes such a small batch. I had

the strawberry applesauce so I used it :). It actually added a nice light

strawberry flavor to the cupcake even though it is kind of hard to overwhelm

someone with natural strawberry flavor.

I decided to use Cool Whip for the

frosting because I didn't want a heavy frosting and I was going for something

nice, light, and cold because it's so hot here. This is a recipe I've used for

a long time for small batches of cupcakes which works well when there aren't

many people around to help eat them (it does happen). As always, feel free to

ask questions or express your thoughts. I've also added a new community page

here with BlogFrog that allows everyone to ask questions or opinions

and look for recipes or whatever you would like to write.

In other crazy news that I'm super excited about I am the Featured Chef over at Cook Eat Share right now! Yay! That was a huge surprise! Also, my picture was accepted on Dessert Stalking! It's only one but it's a start. This is turning out to be a pretty great week so far :) Happy Baking!

• Hint of Strawberry CupcakesMakes 5Ingredients:
• - 2 tablespoons butter
• - ½ cup granulated sugar
• - 2 tablespoons strawberry applesauce (or strawberry
• puree)
• - 1 whole egg
• - 1 teaspoon vanilla
• - ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• - 1 teaspoon baking powder
• - 2 tablespoons milk
• - ¾ tub Cool Whip
• - red food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place 5 cupcake liners in a

muffin pan, set aside.

2. In a mixer blend together butter and sugar until

fluffy. Mix in strawberry applesauce or strawberry puree. Add the egg and

vanilla then mix until smooth.

3. Add the flour and baking powder, blend until just

mixed. Add the milk and mix until completely blended. Mix for about 30 seconds.

4. Divide the batter evenly between 5 cupcake liners.

Bake for 15 -17 minutes or until it springs back when touched lightly or a

toothpick inserted slightly off center comes out clean.

5. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack.

6. Place ¼ tub of Cool Whip in a bowl and blend in

1-2 drops of red food coloring, stir until evenly blended. If using a pastry

bag (I used a big star tip) then gently use a thin spatula and spread the

tinted Cool Whip up one side on the inside of the bag in a 2” wide strip. Then

gently fill the rest of the bag with the untinted Cool Whip. Pipe the Cool Whip

onto the cupcakes in the desired pattern. If you’re not using a pastry bag then

spread on the Cool Whip with a small spatula or knife. These taste the best the

same day.

This is an original recipe

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