Spring Green Lime Cupcakes

Spring is my favorite time of year, as it brings light breezes, fragrant flowers, my birthday, and Mother's Day. It is represented by green, the color of luck and growth, so it seemed fitting that my mother requested lime cupcakes for Mother's Day. I had never had lime cupcakes before, but I found an easy recipe on BettyCrocker.com. I wanted to make key lime cupcakes, as the recipe does, but unfortunately I could not find any key lime juice at the grocery store! That made me sad, because my family absolutely key lime juice. Fortunately, one cannot be sad for long when making cupcakes! The only other change I made with the recipe is that I didn't make two frostings, but only made the lime glaze. A lime and powdered sugar glaze with cream cheese frosting on top seemed like overkill to me. I know a lot of people just love cream cheese frosting, but I usually find it a little too rich. If rich cream cheese frosting is more your style though, then click on the Betty Crocker link for the recipe.

Ingredients

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® lemon cake mix
1 box (4-serving size) lime-flavored gelatin
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Key lime juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 or 3 drops green food color, if desired

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons Key lime juice

 I actually couldn't find the Betty Crocker lemon cake mix, so I bought the store brand. It worked out fine.

 Directions
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
It looks like gaucamole, doesn't it? Well, it tastes even better!

 Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake 19 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. With toothpick or wooden skewer, pierce tops of cupcakes in several places.  In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and enough of the 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle and spread glaze over cupcakes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
 
These came out light, moist, and so green they reminded me of St. Patrick's Day.  I thought the light, lime glaze paired beautifully with the lightness of the cake-the whole cupcake seemed to melt in my mouth.  Yum!

Something that has made me feel even lighter than this cupcake is the realization I had in my last therapy session that I no longer have an eating disorder!  Sure, I still don't trust myself enough to own a scale and I will never let myself start dieting again, but I am not afraid of food anymore.  Currently, the foods on my "fear foods list" are zero and that is a wonderful feeling.  Also, while I still get the craving to purge sometimes, I now have enough confidence in myself to know that I can withstand the uncomfortable feeling safely until it passes.  While the cupcake was delicious, truly there is nothing more delicious than recovery.

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