Pineapple Confetti Cupcakes with Lemon

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to bake. It's so much fun, smells amazing in the oven, and the results are exciting to see and eat! The only downfall of baking is the clean-up .. But I think the treat is always worth it!


When I started WW in February, I thought my baking days would be behind me. How on earth could I bake my moist, decadent cakes with creamy and buttery homemade icing and still stay on plan?!


Well, I'm happy to report that I was w-r-o-n-g! I can still bake!! There are no NO's within a lifestyle change, but only a change of habits. I still bake, but this time, instead of keeping the whole dish to myself, I try to give away as much as possible (to willing neighbors and family / friends!) or I freeze the leftovers for a rainy day.


Or .. I find new, guilt-free recipes to make! I found this cupcake recipe on skinnytaste.com and had to make it. So I did, and I adored them, but I wanted to make them my own, for Daughter Lego's first birthday! So .. Here's my version of Pineapple Cupcakes!


All you need is one box of store-bought confetti cupcake mix and one can of crushed pineapple packed in juice. Mix them both together until they're well blended.

This is batter you actually CAN lick off the spoon .. No eggs!

This is where I made the recipe my own: I grated some lemon zest into the batter! It adds such a nice extra flavor to the cupcake. And I just love lemons.


Spoon the batter into your prepared cupcake liners. You can make either 24 small cupcakes or 12 large - for this batch I made 12 large and had enough batter leftover to make my daughter a small cake to smash. Bake for approx 20 minutes at 350, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.


We topped each cupcake with our favorite 95% fat-free Cool Whip, rounding out each cupcake to five points each. Not too shabby, considering store bought cupcakes are usually around the 10+ point mark!

A little guilt-free pleasure!

And to be honest, I find making these cupcakes with the pineapples and lemon to be not only more tasty, but WAY more moist, vs. making them with the oil and eggs that the box calls for. Wins all around for healthy eating!

I always find colorful foods to be so visually appealing .. and these cupcakes definitely are!

Happy birthday, my beautiful and wonderfully silly little baby girl!! :)