Kiddie Cocktail Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat 1 cup butter with sugar until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add vanilla extract.

In a small bowl combine the 3 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the lemon-lime soda into the creamed mixture, in about 3 additions each. Add the lemon extract and mix thoroughly.

Remove 2 cups of batter and add the extra 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons cherry juice into it. Mix in the red food coloring too. Pour this batter into the bottom of 24 lined muffin cups. Be careful not to spill on sides of liners.

Scoop the remaining batter evenly over the cherry batter. Bake cupcakes in a 350 F oven for about 17-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting: Beat butter with the powdered sugar, lemon extract, soda and cherry juice until you reach your desired consistency. Add in more soda or powdered sugar depending on how creamy you want your frosting to be.

Frost each cupcake and top with a maraschino cherry. Stick in a straw for a cute effect!

(Recipe adapted from The Curvy Carrot).