CUPCAKES!!!

One thing about L's family living so close is that I can usually get designated to bring dessert.  I am an awesome pie-maker, and I like to try new recipes out on the family.  Tonight there will be a BBQ, and I was asked to make a WW friendly dessert (L's mom just started up with the program a few weeks ago--that ROCKS!!).  Here is what I made:


Cherry Awesome
 (*Note that this is a cake recipe--I just made it into cupcakes!)
4 cups mini marshmallows

All the steps

1 box yellow cake mix (I actually used cherry chip cake mix)
2 egg whites
10 ounces diet sprite (I used A & W Dt. Cream Soda)
1 can light cherry pie filling

Heat oven to 350.
Spray 13x9x2 pan with cooking spray.
Layer marshmallows on bottom of pan.
Mix cake mix with sprite and egg whites.
pour mix over marshmallows, then spoon cherries over top of cake. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Cherries will sink to the bottom and the marshmallows will rise to the top of the cake while baking.
26 cupcakes (actually 24 + a mini bundt cake) = 2pts/cupcake

See--they are pretty ugly...

These were really hard to tell if they were finished baking.  Because the marshmallow got all nice and toasty brown on top, it was hard to see if the actual cake batter was done cooking.  They don't look like I'd like them to--they are sort of ugly--and the jury's still out on the light cherry pie filling.  I will say the cherry chip cake mix helps the flavor--or maybe it hinders it?--I'll ask L when he tries one.  The gooey cherries sink to the bottom, and in order to get it all (don't want to waste any dessert food!), one must lick the bottom of the muffin paper.  I don't mind this exercise, but some might find it distasteful. 

Key Lime

For the batter:
1 white cake mix
1 cup fat free half and half

Layer 1 & Center Limely-Blob--waiting for Layer 3

3 tablespoons key lime juice (+more)
6 egg whites
*+lime zest
For the filling:
1 can fat free eagle brand
3 tablespoons key lime juice (+more)
*+lime zest 

*My personal addition!

Mix the batter ingredients until smooth. Put 1-2 Tablespoons of batter into cupcake pan. Put 1 tablespoon of filling on top of batter, then put 1-2 tablespoons of batter on top. This makes a creamy center inside the cupcakes. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Top with fat free cool whip.

I got 21 total cupcakes so it worked out to be 3pts/cupcake.

These are delicious. I ate one warm (they will be MUCH better cold/cool), and they are super moist, and not too strong of a flavor--I'd probably go a bit more heavy on the key lime juice next time.  Much easier to tell when these were done too! The points might shift a little if one were to use a different cake mix--this one was worth 44 points--or even make them smaller to get more out of the batter.  I wanted bigger cupcakes, and I don't mind the increase in points. 

SO PRETTY!!!!

Before it went INTO MY BELLY!!!

Both of these recipes are pretty labor intensive.  I am a baker, and yet I was involved in this project for about three hours.  Now--it could be because I have only ONE muffin pan (+a mini-6 muffin tin) and I did BOTH of these recipes at once, but just try to keep in mind there are a number of steps to each of these recipes--it won't be: stir pour bake.  I loved making these--I like bigger more intricate baking projects--they soothe me!