Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

There’s something about strawberry pink cupcakes on Valentine’s Day that just makes sense.

This year, we kept it simple and grabbed a box of Dolly Parton’s strawberry cake mix and didn’t change a thing about it. We made it exactly the way the box told us to and it was perfect. No notes!!

The boys cracked the eggs and Anna stirred everything together. Into the oven they went, and the whole house started smelling like strawberries and sugar and childhood all wrapped up in one.

But the real star, if I’m being honest, was the homemade cream cheese frosting.

Here’s how to make the best cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients
1 stick butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat on low until smooth and free of clumps. Once it’s silky, turn the mixer to high and beat for 2 minutes. That’s it!

It’s fluffy and tangy and sweet without being overwhelming. It’s seriously so good, and makes you swipe your finger through the bowl when you think no one’s looking, except everyone is looking because your children are exactly like you. Oops.

We piled it high on those strawberry cupcakes and the kids added sprinkles because it was Valentine’s Day and sprinkles feel festive even when the rest of life is ordinary. They were a hit!

Sometimes I want to reinvent every recipe. Make it from scratch or make it better somehow. Make it my own. And other times, the boxed mix is just the right choice, especially when it’s a school night and we’re short on time. Sometimes the magic isn’t in changing the recipe, it’s in who’s standing on a stool beside you while you make it.

Strawberry cupcakes, homemade frosting, and a pink, sugar-dusted evening in our kitchen. I’ll take that kind of love story any day.