Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Like many folks this year, I've spent a lot of time at home. This includes my work, which has meant I haven't seen my colleagues in some time. If you click back a few months in posts, you'll notice I would bring in baked goods on occasion, particularly for birthdays. Baking is a way for me to share appreciation for people; cooking for someone or bringing in goodies made for them makes me feel just plain good. I know how much I love a pretty cupcake, and want to bring that joy to everyone!

So as life has dramatically changed for many people this year, for me one of the many changes it has brought having fewer opportunities to make this dream come true. As cooking is also an outlet for me, I've tried to keep it up but in healthier or scaled back versions. Still, though, I've craved the opportunity to make those sweets I know and love. Recently my colleagues decided to meet out for dinner to celebrate my boss's birthday, and I knew I had to make up for lost cookies and cupcake time and bake something special. A plain ol' cupcake wouldn't do though.

As I recently remade snickerdoodles, so those cinnamon cookies were on my mind. That's when I thought about how good a cupcake version of the cookie would be. I started off by making mini cookies to put on top, because how cute does that sound? A tiny treat on top of a cupcake is like winning the bonus round on a game show. You've already won but wait! There's more!

For the cupcakes, I used the same recipe I have for many a cupcake, more recently posted in my Vanilla Bean Cupcakes recipe. This is my FAVORITE cupcake recipe and is so simple because all the ingredients are just mixed together. The only variations I used here was using vanilla extract and adding cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter. Cinnamon is the key to a snickerdoodle, and what brings that flavor to fluffy cake form.

I made a vanilla buttercream for the icing but topped it with some of the same sugar and cinnamon mixture I'd used for the cookies. Fashion and function, all in one.

And finished off with a mini cookie, we had it all. This cupcake recipe is already good in vanilla form, and when you start throwing extras in there, it just amps up the delight. I really dug the simple step of adding the sugar cinnamon on the icing; it not only made these look like the famed cinnamon dough rounds, it also added that same texture the outside of the cookie has.

The great thing is that you can make these without anything fancy in the house. Cinnamon is a basic ingredient; there's no fancy dark chocolate chips or special candies required this time around. Just a little bit of spice and sugar.

Not only was it fantastic to see my counterparts again, I was happy to contribute some baked goods and got some great feedback as well. Thanks for the support, cupcakes.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions:

For the cake:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt and mix. Add in milk, butter, and vanilla and beat using a hand or stand mixer for 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat for 3 minutes. Stir in ground vanilla beans.  Pour into cake pans sprayed with nonstick baking spray and bake for 20-25 minutes, until you can poke the center of the cake with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter using a mixer for 3-5 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, water, and vanilla extract, beating on high between each new addition. Mix until the frosting is light and fluffy. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle on top of cupcakes.

Frost cupcakes as desired once cool.