Dixie Lee Lemony Cupcakes--Sugar Free

Play "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." Wear something swingy.

With sugar falling on us faster than snow, and piling up more dangerously around our hips, here is a wonderful sugar-free recipe that will satisfy your cravings and for those who aren't interested in sugar-free, they will never know the difference.

Take 1 box of the Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow Cake Mix. Add the oil (or you can use about a cup of no sugar added apple sauce if you want to cut down on fat). Mix up a 2 quart packet of Crystal Light Lemonade mix and use the lemonade instead of water in the batter. I do not use eggs, because I like this really moist. If you want to use an egg, just use one. Egg makes it cakier, but it also makes it a little drier. You might want to add a couple of drops of lemon flavoring, but you might want to keep the cake a little more neutral. Then put the batter in cupcake tins and bake according to the package, sorta. When you change ingredients, especially the egg and oil, it has an impact on cooking time. It may take longer. Keep an eye on and test with a toothpick.

While they are baking, get a container of the Vanilla Sugar Free Pillsbury Frosting. Dump into a mixing bowl. (You might even want to warm it for a few seconds in the microwave to make it mix more easily.) Dump DRY lemonade mix, 1 two-quart pack or into the frosting. Add lemon flavoring to taste. I like to add a little lemon zest, just to make it real. You might also want to add some yellow food coloring because none of this has a lot of color. It will be very pale yellow without added coloring. I also add half a stick of softened butter, for flavor and for texture. The packaged frosting can be sort of "plastic" tasting, especially sugar-free, so I think mixing it with cream cheese, a little sour cream, or some butter, really does help the flavor. Experiment with what tastes good to you.

When your cupcakes are done, let them cool for at least 20 minutes before adding the icing, and then pile it on. It's delicious. You may want to decorate with some sugar free candies. You can crush some hard lemon candy and sprinkle on, or just find some cute candy and stick it in the middle. Arrange on a platter with Christmas ornaments. If you're serving this at a party, you might want to put a little card that says this is sugar-free. This is not LOW calorie, but if you are trying to keep an eye on sugar without giving up treats, this is wonderful.

Now, go get you some REAL sugar under the mistletoe!