Strawberry Surprise

I LOVE the 4th of July, it is my favorite holiday. I love the color scheme, the fact that the day has a theme, people wear the colors of the party (I have issues), there are no presents involved (well, except for my friend Tiff since it's her b-day), there is yummy food, time with friends, family and FIREWORKS! Seriously, what's not to love????

Well, our friends had a big party this year and me being the over-achiever (or an idiot for trying to do too much) decided to make 2 desserts. The 1st I called, 4th of July Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes (whew, that's a yummy mouth-full).

So here we go...

red, white and blue... i love you!

I used my favorite basic cupcake recipe called, The Best Birthday Cupcakes (recipe to follow... yes, I'm going to share it :) then I colored the batter blue (a turqousie really) and red.

I used a spoon to fill the liners (cheap white ones from the Dollar Tree, so you could see the color through them) with a little red, white and blue.

Baked! I wish I used a little more red on the top, oh well.

Patriotic cupcakes.

Then I cut the tops off and hallowed out strawberries,

Using a small knife I cut a small cone shape from the center of each cupcake,

and placed the strawberry inside.

I used Chrissy's recipe for The Best Cream Cheese Frosting, but used strawberry mush instead of vanilla and then topped with sprinkles.

The inside.

I have no pictures of all of them all done or at the party, but I feel this makes up for it AND is even better....

you're welcome ;) seriously, could she be any cuter???? I just love her!

The Best Birthday Cupcakes

The Cake Mix Doctor

1 pkg plain butter recipe golden cake mix

1 pkg (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese at room temp

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c water

1/2 c vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

so simple, so delish.