Snickerdoodle cupcakes. Yum!

Last week was "cupcake week" on the Martha Stewart show. I don't really like the show but sometimes have it on in the background just so there's noise when I'm home. I was fascinated by cupcake week though and thought that I would start making cupcakes instead of cakes since they're easier to give away. Snickerdoodle cupcakes sounded amazing but like something I've never had so I decided to try it out...and they're amazing!Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, melted (1 stick)
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 almond extract
3/4 c. whole milk, room temperature (6 oz)

Grab a large bowl and dump in all the dry ingredients. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients thoroughly (particularly the baking powder) and get rid of any flour clumps.

In a small bowl, melt a stick of butter in the microwave, then pour in a mixer bowl with the granulated sugar and mix on medium to combine. Melting the butter makes for a denser cupcake.

With the mixer speed on medium, add the two eggs to the bowl.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. (I left the almond out because I was out of it, so you can decide if you want to use it or not)

Grab your bowl of dry ingredients and put in about a third of it in the mixer bowl and combine at low speed. Scrape down the bowl and then add half the milk, again mixing at low speed. Scrape down the bowl again, and repeat with the next third of dry, the rest of the milk, then the last third of the dry.

Turn your oven on to 350 degrees. Grab your muffin tin, put in the muffin liners, and then fill each cup until 3/4 full.

Before you put them in the oven, you want to sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mixture on the tops to give it that extra-snickerdoodle-y taste. (below)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle the entire mixture evenly over the twelve cupcakes. Pop into the oven and bake for 18 minutes, turning the pan around after 13 minutes to help it bake evenly.

Leave the cupcakes in the tin for five minutes, then remove them and let them cool completely on a baker's rack.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
2 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp cinnamon extract
2 c powdered sugar, sifted

In a small bowl, microwave the white chocolate for about 30 seconds or until partially melted. Mix the chocolate so that the residual heat melts the remainder, and then set aside to cool.

In a mixer bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter together, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the melted white chocolate and add the vanilla extract until they are well-combined.

Add the cinnamon extract and the powdered sugar (about half a cup at a time) and mix on low, again scraping down the bowl as needed.

Put the frosting in the refrigerator to chill.

When the cupcakes are cooled and the frosting is at a chilled but piping consistency (which is hard to tell, you just kinda have to try piping it and see), frost the cupcakes.

I then sprinkled the cinnamon-sugar topping on top of the frosting...amazing! Try it out :)