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
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
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.
Sim @ Sim's Life says
Lemon drizzle cake is my absolute favourite! I cannot resist it! These look absolutely amazing, my only problem would be stopping at only one! Sim x #TrafficJam
Kerry Mielcarek says
Who stops at one?
Jana says
Oh my goodness I made these this morning thank you so much for the extra pounds I will be putting on hee hee they are so yummy! I had to use yellow cake mix and lemon instant jello pudding all I had but they are so good! Thank you!
Nicole says
We’re happy to hear that! 🙂
Trish Sloan says
The original and much easier version is called LEMON BLOSSOMS which is all over pinterst and the internet….for years. Check it out.
Suzanne says
This looks so good! Its the perfect spring time dessert. Do you use this glaze for any other recipes?
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
MARY says
NO BECAUSE YOU CANT STOP EATING THEM THEY ARE ADDICTIVE!!!!!!!!!
Kubers says
I ❤ lemon but seems everyone i know doesn’t. Wonder if I can do a different flavor of cake mix,but dont know what to do for the frosting
Nicole says
You can always just leave the frosting plain vanilla. vanilla goes with everything! 🙂
Kerry Mielcarek says
I have frozen them and they still were very good.
Gina says
Can I use sugar free pudding??
Jessica says
I’ve not tried it with sugar free pudding…
Donna says
These mini cupcakes look good! I love anything lemon. I want to make these, but don’t need a large amount. Can this recipe be halved?
Thanks!
Jessica says
Well, it uses a cake mix. So if you’re okay with using only half the cake mix, then go for it! You can always freeze the mini cupcakes too!
Donna says
I’m going to try to halve it. The cake mix is 15.25 oz. (I think that’s what it said). All the other ingredients are easy to halve. Perhaps I can use 7.5 oz, and 1/8 oz – whatever that figures out to be. Does that sound right?
Thanks!
Heidi Condon says
I am making these as I write this. Grrrr! I used a silicone mini muffin pan. The cupcakes just want to stay in their little wells and I have had to push each one out. Because they are so light and airy, some are falling apart. I do not like this pan and I just bought it specifically for this recipe. The cupcakes are good without the glaze. I find they are a bit “eggy” and wondered if my using large organic eggs may have something to do with it? I can’t wait to try them with glaze. My husband has been terribly sick with Covid-19 and this will be a welcome change to green jello.
Nellie says
Did you spray the silicone pan at all? I would spray it even though they are non-stick, just because it makes it so much easier to get baked goods out of pans that way! If your eggs are extra large, maybe try using one less egg next time? You definitely need to try them with the glaze though…they are even more delicious!
Jill Baird says
I can’t get enough of these! I’m a total sucker for a lemon anything! These are going to the top of the list!
Renee Goerger says
Lemon desserts are my weak spot. These cupcakes are amazing and I love their mini size so I don’t have to feel guilty eating more than one. 🙂
Diane says
Made these this morning!! Amazing!!! And so simple!! Already bought everything to make more. Thank you!!
Abigail says
Do these need to be refrigerated until eaten? Wanting to make them for a wedding but won’t have fridge space to store them before the reception.
Nellie says
Nope, no need for refrigeration at all!
Rachel says
What size cake mix? Different brands very in size!
Jessica says
15.25 oz is the standard size. I think you can get smaller ones from Dollar stores, but most grocery stores carry several brands in this standard size.
Judy says
My son’s absolute favorite. He calls them Little Lemon Crack Balls!
Carol Matney says
I PURCHASED A MINICUPCAKE PAN FOR 48 CUPCAKES, IS THIS TO BIG FOR YOUR RECIPE?
Nicole says
that should work just fine
Valerie Harrison says
Where can I find the calorie count? These were fantastic my family loved them and I made cupcake since I didn’t have the small pan.
Nicole says
There are about 62 calories per mini lemon drop. The information is provided at the bottom of the recipe card.
Allison says
Can this be made in full-size muffin tins? If so, does anything change? Maybe the cooking time?
I just don’t (yet!) own mini-size muffin tins.
Nicole says
The baking time will need to be extended due to the size difference you’ll want to bake them for the time requested on the back of the cake mix box for cupcakes.
Jaclyn says
How long do you think these will hold up flavor and spongy wise? I am making them three days before an event…should I freeze them and thaw the day before to glaze or will they still be just as delicious 3 days later?
Nicole says
Your plan for freezing them is good but i think simply storing them in the fridge would work as well
Angela Sklar says
Can I use mini cup cake liners and only glaze the tops ? Also, if the liners are not a good idea , what kind of spray works best? Regular cooking spray , or does it have to be the flour like spray only used for baking ? These really sound good and would love to make them for an upcoming family gathering !
Nicole says
liners are fine and the baking spray can be whatever you have on hand like olive oil spray, canola spray, or the floured baking spray. you could also just use regular nonstick cooking spray and then do a dusting of flour, which does the same as the baking spray.