Nancy Fox can be found at Skinny Kitchen, where she shares recipes that she loves and that you’ll adore, too. Just like these adorable and delicious eggnog cupcakes for the holidays!

Eggnog Cupcakes!

It wouldn’t be Christmas without traditional eggnog. But, what is it really? It’s a delicious sweetened dairy based beverage which typically consists of milk, nutmeg, and eggs. The eggs give it a rich and creamy texture. Sometimes cream is used to replace some or all the milk to make it even richer.

This year I thought it might be fun to make cupcakes adding eggnog. They’re a whole lot skinnier since using light eggnog instead of the full fat kind. You’ll save time by starting with a cake mix.

These super moist cupcakes are topped with a decadent but skinny cream cheese frosting. You can decorate them ahead of time or let everybody top their own with a little red and green colored sugar or sprinkles!

Prep Time: 15 minutes including the frosting

Bake Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients for Eggnog Cupcakes:

1 package (16.5 oz) Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

2 tablespoons flour

1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding

1 cup light eggnog

½ cup warm water

¼ cup reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance Light

2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, I like Eggland’s Best eggs

2 egg whites

Ingredients for Frosting:

4 ounces (½ of an 8 ounce package) reduced-fat cream cheese

1½ cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon reduced-fat milk

Red and green colored sugar for decorating, if desired

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Line the cups with cupcake liners.

2. In an electric mixer or using a hand mixer, combine all the cupcake ingredients except the eggs and whites. Beat well.

3. Add the eggs, egg whites and mix well.

4. Fill each cupcake cup just to the top. Do not mound or over fill.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool before frosting. Bake the remaining 6 cupcakes and cool.

6. To make the frosting: using a mixer, whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powder sugar, milk and mix until smooth. It should be quite thick.

7. Frost each cupcake and sprinkle with colored sugars, if desired.

8. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 18 cupcakes (each serving 1 frosted cupcake)

Food Fact

Although debatable, eggnog probably came from England. The ingredients for the drink were too expensive and uncommon for the lower classes but it was popular among the aristocracy.

Shopping Tips

Light eggnog (reduced-fat and calories) can be found in most supermarkets or Trader Joe’s.

Many brands, like Silk, for example, make soy- almond- coconut- milk-based eggnogs during the holidays for vegans or those who are milk sensitive.

Serving Tip

I love to serve these cupcakes slightly warmed by zapping them in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 7

SKINNY FACTS: for 1 frosted cupcake
247 cal, 8 g fat, 4 g protein, 40 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 304 mg sodium, 15 g sugar