Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

This recipe was extremelyyyyy time consuming...but they were so cute in the end that it was worth it! Carrie was throwing a shindig for her husband Matt's birthday and I couldn't show up empty handed. I also have a habit of overpouring. Anyone who has had one of my jello shots or winner juice knows that though. :)

Shout out to Nick for teaching me how to properly cut limes. I messed up two before I finally got it right.

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 9 ounces liquid Margarita mix (a little over a cup)
• 3 ounces tequila (a little less than 1/3 cup. Confession: I poured extra) Keep the bottle around for brushing the cupcake tops.
• 1 box Strawberry cake mix
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil

Ingredients for icing:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar (I used more to get to the consistency I like for icing)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice 
• 2 tablespoons tequila (Confession again: I poured more than I should have)
• Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. Line two dozen cupcake tins with paper liners. 
3. Whisk together margarita mix and tequila  in a small bowl.  
4. In a large bowl, blend cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and margarita mix from step 3. Batter will be slightly lumpy. 
5. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners (about ¾ full). 
6. Bake for 20-25 min, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
7. Let cupcakes cool half an hour.
8. Poke holes in the top of the cupcakes with a fork.
9. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. 
10. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely.
11. Whip the butter in a medium sized bowl. 
12. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated.
13. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. 
14. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. 
15. Frost cupcakes and garnish with a lime wedge.
    

Yay so pretty :)