Monday Menu - Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

"Holy smokes! I think this is the best cupcake I have ever eaten!" ~ Alex

If that review doesn't snag your attention, I don't know what will! And, really now. Snickerdoodle Cupcakes?? Considering the name of my blog, how could I not share this new found recipe? And the first time I saw that name, it truly gave me a little thrill. I assume the same for all of you. Thus, I give you the Snickerdoodle Cupcake recipe:



Snickerdoodle Cupcakes


Dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

Combine all dry ingredients together in small bowl.

In a large bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add sugar. Mix with hand mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, mixing well on medium speed. Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix well.

Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and combine on low speed. Add 1/2 the milk, again mixing on low speed. Repeat with the next third of the dry, the rest of the milk, and the last third of the dry.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle each cupcake with a small amount of sugar, then a dusting of cinnamon.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Do not over bake. Who likes a dry cupcake?!

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely. (This recipe, for me, made 12 large cupcakes and 10 mini cupcakes.)

Meanwhile, make frosting:

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

2 oz. white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. cinnamon extract

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (more to taste)

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a small bowl, microwave the white chocolate for 30 seconds or until partially melted. Stir to melt together. Set aside to cool slightly.

Mix together the cream cheese and butter until well creamed. Mix in the white chocolate and vanilla. Add the cinnamon extract, cinnamon. Mix in the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. Chill the frosting until is sets up better for easier piping or spreading. (This makes a lot of frosting. You can get by with 1/2 the amount for the amount of cupcakes. Or make the whole thing and be very generous with the frosting. Or save it in the fridge to put on graham crackers. YUM!)

These are great! The cupcake top gets a bit of a crust from the sugar and cinnamon on top, giving it the same feel as biting into a snickerdoodle cookie. And the house smells so great when they are baking. The cake is very dense and moist. That melted butter really gives it a fabulous consistency. Butter. Mmm. I did not do a good job of photographing those cupcakes. I think my hand was shaking a bit from the sugar rush of taste-testing the frosting. So don't judge them by their picture!