Mini Lemon Drop Cupcakes are delicious bite-sized treats that start with a lemon cake mix! The easy lemon glaze soaks into the bottoms to make these little cupcakes even more incredible.
After you try these, don’t miss this collection of our BEST SPRING RECIPES!
Little Lemon Drops are absolutely amazing and everyone will love you for making and sharing them! I took these to a barbecue and they were devoured in about 5 minutes….long before the meat even started cooking! Everyone was exclaiming about how amazing they were and I was thrilled because this recipe is so easy and it makes about 75 little cupcakes so it’s perfect for large gatherings. Although, my husband ate about a dozen himself before we even left the house so 75 of them doesn’t actually go as far as you’d think!
MINI LEMON CUPCAKES
This recipe for Little Lemon Drops actually starts with a lemon cake mix! You add a few basic ingredients to the cake mix: a box of vanilla pudding, eggs, sour cream or yogurt and milk. That’s it!
Bake the mini cupcakes, then I like to dunk them in my lemon glaze upside down. The lemon glaze absorbs into the mini cupcakes better when they’re inverted! This is a simple but delicious recipe that everyone goes crazy over.
INGREDIENTS IN MINI LEMON CUPCAKES
Here’s what you need to make these Little Lemon Cake Bites:
Lemon cake mix – The mix should be about 15.75 ounces. Any lemon cake mix will work great!
Instant vanilla pudding mix – Use a small box (3.4 ounces) and make sure the pudding mix is the instant kind. Adding pudding mix to the recipe really improves the consistency of the cupcakes!
Eggs – You will need 4 large eggs for the recipe.
Sour cream or yogurt – Sour Cream works great, but I usually use plain or vanilla yogurt – either option works great!
Milk – I almost always use 1% milk because that’s what I have on hand, but any type of milk works well. Even non-dairy options are just fine!
How to make Little Lemon Drop Mini Cupcake recipe
To make our Glazed Lemon Mini Cupcakes, you’ll first preheat the oven to 325° F. Coat mini muffin tins with cooking spray. This recipe makes 75 mini cupcakes so I ended up baking 3 batches in my mini cupcake pan that holds 24 cupcakes.
Beat the ingredients for the mini lemon cupcakes in a large bowl with an electric mixer for several minutes until blended and smooth.
Fill each muffin hole about 1/2 way full. I used a small cookie scoop and it worked perfectly! Bake each pan for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 2 minutes and then turn the muffin pan over on a wire rack so that all the muffins are upside down.
Cool completely and once all the batter is cooked, you can make the glaze.
Ingredients for simple Lemon Glaze
Powdered sugar – Lots of powdered sugar makes the glaze sweet just the way we like it!
Lemon zest – The recipe calls for about 2 teaspoons of zest – I usually just use all of the zest from one large lemon.
Butter – Just a couple of tablespoons of melted butter helps to make the glaze buttery and creamy.
Lemon juice – You’ll need about 1/4 cup of lemon juice which is about the amount that you can squeeze out of one large lemon. Just use the same lemon you get all of the zest from. If you need a little bit more, you can also use lemon juice out of a bottle.
Hot water– Adds the extra liquid needed to make the right consistency for the glaze.
How to make Lemon Drop Mini Cupcake Glaze
To make the easy lemon glaze that you’ll dip each mini cupcake into, you first want to place wire cooling racks over waxed paper. This will minimize clean up a ton!
Beat the glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth. Dip each mini cupcake into the glaze upside down. The bottom side of cupcakes are softer and actually absorb the glaze so much better. Set the cupcakes on a separate cooling rack, keeping them inverted. So the cupcake bottoms are now the tops!
Let the lemon drop cupcakes cool for 10-15 minutes, until the glaze is set. Make sure to eat a few before placing them out for others or you’ll never get to try one!
LEMON DROP GLAZED MINI CUPCAKES
Ingredients
Mini Lemon Drop Cupcakes
- 1 box lemon cake mix
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding 3.4 oz, dry mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream or yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk
Easy Lemon Glaze
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup hot water
Instructions
To make the Mini Lemon Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Coat mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Beat the ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer for several minutes until blended and smooth. Fill each muffin hole about 1/2 full. I used a small cookie scoop and it worked perfectly! Bake for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 2 minutes and then turn the muffin pan over on a wire rack so that all the muffins are upside down.
- Cool completely and once all the batter is cooked, you can make the glaze.
To make the Lemon Glaze:
- Place the wire racks over waxed paper. Beat the glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Dip muffins in glaze to coat the bottoms (which are now the tops!) and the sides and let the excess drip off back into the bowl.
- Place each lemon drop back on the wire racks until the glaze is set.
Video
Nutrition
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Can you freeze Lemon Drop Mini Cupcakes?
I recommend you freeze the mini cupcakes baked, but not dipped in the glaze. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container or freezer bags for up to 3 months in the freezer. Once you’re ready to serve them, let them thaw on the countertop, then proceed with the instructions for making the glaze and dipping the cupcakes.
What to do with leftover lemon zest or lemon juice
Having lemon zest or lemon juice leftover is a fantastic problem to have! You can refrigerate both for up to a month, or freeze them for up to 6 months. Usually what I do is place them in an airtight container in the fridge, then after a week, if I still haven’t used them, I transfer them to the freezer. These are my favorite airtight containers to use- I love all the varying sizes they come in, and foods last so much longer in them!
ENJOY LEMON DESSERTS? SO DO WE! HERE ARE MORE YOU CAN TRY:
- Easy Lemon Quick Bread
- Lemon Poke Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake
- Lemon Ice Box Pie
- Lemon Butter Bars Recipe
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Lemon Raspberry Muffins
- Lemon Buttermilk Bread
- Lemon Pudding Cookies
- Lemon Lush Dessert
- Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Mini Lemon Drop Cupcakes are delicious bite-sized treats that start with a lemon cake mix! The easy lemon glaze soaks into the bottoms to make these little cupcakes even more incredible.
Angelina says
Looks scrumptious! Wishing you a Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing with Thursday Favorite Things! Angelina @ Petite Haus
Heather Williams says
Hello!
We made these and. Oh. My. Gosh they are super delish. However, we live in Denver and my mother, an excellent cook by all accounts, added flour. I think that’s our problem, but we thought we should reach out to you, especially since you understand our dilemma, being a Coloradan yourself. They came out very fluffy, sticky, and we can’t get them out of our tin. Do you have any tricks or hits?
Thank you, for both sharing the recipe and for any help you can provide.
Heather
Nellie says
Heather – isn’t Colorado great?! I’ve never made these at a higher altitude since I live in WA now, but yes, usually adding a little bit of flour is necessary at higher altitudes. Maybe add a little bit more next time? Also, make sure to use a baking spray on your pan that has flour in it and that should help to prevent them from sticking. Good luck!
Heather Williams says
It is great! Born and raised here and just can’t stay away.
Thank you for the info. We did put oil and flour on the baking tin. We ended up using cup cake cup. It did the trick. 😊
Justine Howell says
Lemon is my favorite kind of dessert and these are bites of heaven!
Noelle says
Love that! Thank you 🙂
Mary C. says
I made these little guys around Christmas time and they were delicious! I can make these into cupcakes with the same directions except in a cupcake pan, right? No glaze…I was just going to add frosting.
Alison says
Mary, I have always used my mini cupcake tin but I imagine a regular cupcake tin will be just fine if you play with cook time and temp a bit! It will just take a little bit longer to cook them! Best of luck!
Mary C says
Ok thank you!
Janice says
Once they are made are they refrigerated or left out in air tight container
Nellie says
Janice- you can just leave them at room temperature as long as they are in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Mary says
CAN YOU USE CAKE MIX THAT HAS PUDDING IN THE MIX?
Jessica says
Yep! You still add the box of dry pudding mix!
Loretta Cain says
I am getting ready to make these but have a question. The recipe calls for vanilla instant pudding but the picture on this site shows French vanilla instant pudding. Which is the correct one to use? Thanks.
Nellie says
Loretta- Either one works fine! The French vanilla pudding has a slightly different flavor but you can’t really tell in this recipe because of the lemon flavor. I just use whichever one I happen to have on hand!
Loretta Cain says
Good to know. 👍 Thanks.
Suzanne says
These are wonderful! I made some in the mini muffin tins and some in mini bundt pans. I did freeze them with the glaze and they worked out just fine. Great recipe – so moist.
Pam says
Will these last in an airtight container for two days? Thank you! They look delicious!
Nellie says
Pam – I think they would be fine for two days, but I would probably just store the mini cupcakes for 2 days and then dip them in the glaze right before serving. Then they will taste perfect and you won’t have to worry about them getting soggy! Hope you love them as much as we do!
Donna says
This is a great recipe!! Everyone loved them 😊
Delaine says
Have you used lemon pudding instead of vanilla?
Nellie says
I haven’t tried that, but it sounds like a delicious idea!
Kerry Mielcarek says
I have made this recipe at least four times. It’s always a hit and there are many muffins to share. I do use lemon pudding and half sour cream and half lemon yogurt. I figure the more lemony, the better.
Karen Franks says
I made this to serve at a children’s Christmas program at church and got rave reviews from parents and kids!
It was so easy and everyone asked for the recipe. I became addicted to lemon drops from the Walmart bakery but these are much better ( and makes so many ) so goodby to WM bakery.
Alison says
Yay! I’m happy to hear these were even better for you! Thanks for sharing Karen!
Kathi Riley says
This recipe is great – but not being a lemon fan – I changed the cake to german chocolate box mix; pudding to chocolate and the glace to orange – other than those changes – I folloed the recipe..
WOW!!! My friend may the lemon ones exactly following the recipe. They were both cam out fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Olivia says
I am so glad they both turned out so well!!
Chocolate Glazed Mini Cupcakes sound amazing, I might just have to try those myself!
Joyce Hadley says
Did it. Loved it!
Ashley F says
We made these twice over the holidays and they were so good! Couldn’t stop eating them!
Julie says
Love anything Lemon! Yum!
Antionette Blake says
Yummy Yummy, I really miss these tasty sweet treats. Thank you for sharing! #trafficjamweekend