Pistachio Cupcakes

Pistachios are healthy so these cupcakes must be healthy too, right? Yup… that’s exactly what you tell yourself when you’ve devoured 3 in less than 5 minutes. Whoops, oh well! I am a strong believer in the fact that holiday calories don’t count and I’m not exclusive either so St. Patrick’s Day definitely fits right into that category. When deciding what overly unhealthy item I would chose to make for this holiday I figured my mom’s Pistachio Cupcakes would be the perfect fit. Okay so she’s actually never make cupcakes out of this recipe but she has made about 3 cakes each year for my entire childhood. My sister, dad and I would always insist she bake this cake for all of our Birthdays. My mom even overnighted my sister a cake once when she was living in Boston. (Can you guess who the favorite child is???) Ha. Joking… But kind of serious since I am still waiting for my cake after changing coasts back in 2009. Mom if you’re reading this, I love you but WHERE IS MY CAKE??

Anyways when I finally got my hands on this recipe I was shocked by how simple it was. You basically use a box cake mix with some pudding. It could not get any easier. So this year for St. Patrick’s Day I decided to whip up some cupcakes.

Alright let me step you through how ridiculously simple it really is. Go to the grocery store and buy any boxed white cake mix. Try to look for one that uses whole eggs in the recipe instead of egg whites. Next be sure to buy all the ingredients needed to bake the cake according to the box instructions. So usually oil and eggs. Lastly grab a boxed pistachio pudding mix and some cool whip! My mom always topped the cakes with cool whip even though we literally never used it for anything else. To me it is the only way to top them but if you’re not a cool whip fan you can just grab your favorite icing flavor! I’ve actually been eating them plain lately. They’re literally that good!

When it’s time to bake the cake, just start mixing the cake ingredients according to the box instructions, add the pistachio pudding mix, and then add an additional 1/3 cup of oil. This is where you need to use your best judgement. Every cake mix is difference so you made need a little more or less oil. Just make sure it is a good cake consistency.