Lemon Lime Sprite Cupcakes

When we first moved into our current house, we found seven lemon trees on the property. (Have I already told this story?) SEVEN. What does one do with that many lemon trees?! We'll never know. We took most of them out. There is, however, a remaining tree smiling cheerfully to me right outside my kitchen window. It starts to bloom in the winter, which I did not know until I lived here, and offers that cheery splash of yellow and fresh scent of lemon every time I walk by. Thank you, lemon tree. Someone suggested that I make a lot of homemade cleaners with my surplus lemons, which I admit is a great idea, but that would suggest that I would then have to clean...and...well...instead I dream of little lemon treats. This one uses lemon flavoring instead of real lemon juice, but as I sit here and think of it, it would probably be quite tasty and little zestier if it did. Stay tuned for an update. In the meantime, spring is in the air, citrus is always in style, and why not add Sprite for a little extra zing? These cupcakes are scrumptious, so dig in!

Lemon Lime Sprite Cupcakes

Note: I used store-bought frosting. Three cheers for easy. They would probably be great with any lemon or lime frosting recipe you may have, or just add a teaspoon of lemon flavoring to vanilla frosting.

Ingredients:

1 & 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup Sprite

3 eggs

2 teaspoons lemon extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

Key-Lime frosting (store-bought from Pillsbury)

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together sugar and butter. 

3. Add Sprite, eggs, and lemon extract and mix thoroughly.

4. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined. Do not overmix.

5. Scoop into muffin tins until about 3/4 full (I use a large ice cream scoop). Bake for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry.

6. Remove from tins and allow to cool completely.

7. Frost those babies.