Light Lemon & Eggnog Pound Cupcakes
PIN IT!
Not sure if you’ve peeped at the calendar lately but um….I have a bit of news. CHRISTMAS IS IN 7 DAYS. Yes, that’s right, SEVEN! Siete! Sept! Yedi! (I’m not just screaming random words, that’s how you say seven in Spanish, French and Russian). As you can probably tell by frantic tone of …type? I’m not ready for it. In fact, I still have about 75% of my shopping to do, not to mention the gifts I’m baking. I would probably cry if I wasn’t so jet-lagged. So, instead of preparing myself for the holiday this morning, I took a detour to bake some light lemon & eggnog pound cupcakes. Nothing will sooth your soul and combat your stress like one of these, I guarantee it.
I could technically give these away as gifts, which would mean less shopping for me. But you know what? I don’t wanna. I know the holiday is supposed to be about sharing, and gift GIVING, but that doesn’t mean you have to share EVERYTHING you make, right? I’m making other things for other people, so I don’t think it’s horribly rude or selfish of me to keep this entire plate of pound cupcakes all to myself. Well, not all to myself, Santa can have like..one if he asks nicely.
Pound cake is one of those things that I just love to make and eat. It’s so simple, so decadent, so dense, moist and rich. It’s the perfect marriage between quick bread and cake. You get the sweet, fluffy taste and texture of cake but served up in a loaf (or muffin) shape. You can serve glazed or unglazed and can enjoy it year round. I honestly don’t know why I do not make more pound cakes.
Oh yes, I do. I don’t want to weigh 10000 pounds, that’s it. Luckily, these cupcakes are as guilt-free as they come. They are made with applesauce and oil, so you have less fat and calories and use 1/2 the amount of sugar as regular pound cakes. In fact, each little pound cupcake has less than 200 calories. So even if you had, say, 4, you’re still going to fit into your pants.
Now, after 4 of these, your pants may fit, but they won’t be comfortable. So why not keep it to one and still rock that LBD like no ones business?
Light Lemon & Eggnog Pound Cupcakes
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields 12. Recipe inspired by Real Simple.
Prep time: About 10 minutes
Cook time: About 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Dash of salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup low-fat eggnog
- Lemon glaze (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, corn starch and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix the sugar, oil and applesauce together until fully combined. Add in lemon, lemon zest, vanilla extract and eggnog, mix well. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time), mixing well after each addition.
- Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 the way full with batter. Bake for about 40 – 42 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Transfer to a wired cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Glaze with your favorite glaze or dust with powdered sugar!
Nutritional information per cupcake:
Calories: 199
Fat: 7.2 grams
Carbohydrates: 28.5 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 5.1 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 5
Claire
Tags:eggnog recipes, lemon recipes, light recipes, low fat eggnog recipes, low fat recipes
You can also make the eggnog yourself, there are a few light recipes online!
about this article, while I am also zealous of getting
familiarity.