snickerdoodle cupcakes (aka, the best cupcakes I've ever made)
So when I was at my local library a few weeks ago, and saw this book*, I had to get it.
And it is beautiful. Not just the pictures, but the content. The cupcakes, the party decor, all of it. And guess what? It contains the snickerdoodle cupcake recipe I've been coveting for years now.
I made the cupcakes, with a few minor alterations. First, I used canned milk instead of half-and-half, and almond milk instead of milk (that's what I had). Second, I made my own cake flour** because that's not something I just have in my cupboard. I cut down the frosting recipe significantly. They frost their cupcakes rather generously, and while it is delicious, I did not want to use six sticks of butter. So here's the recipe.
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons half-and-half (or canned milk)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
2 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
cinnamon sugar (1t sugar + 1t cinnamon)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep your cupcake pans with liners (recipe says it will make 24, I got 30).
Sit together flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Combine milk, half-and-half, and vanilla in a measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar in a mixer bowl, using the paddle attachment, at low speed until it is smooth and creamy (1 minute if butter is soft). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping the bowl after each addition. Wait until all traces of egg have disappeared before adding the next one.
Add dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with wet ingredients in two parts. Keep mixer at the lowest speed, and mix each time until just combined. After everything has been added, scrape the bowl once more, and stir until the batter is just smooth. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then stir gently before using.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake about 20 minutes (cupcakes should be firm, pale but golden around the edges). Let them cool 5 minutes in the pans, and finish cooling on a cooling rack (try at least one warm, they are divine).
Cinnamon Buttercream
3 cups unsalted butter at room temp (1 cup)
6 cups confectioners sugar (2 cups)
2t vanilla extract (3/4t)
1/4t salt (I omitted, because I used salted butter)
1t cinnamon
Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Start at the lowest speed, and gradually increase the speed, scraping the bowl frequently, until the butter is light in color and perfectly smooth (30 seconds if it is softened).
Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing at the lowest speed and incorporating each cup completely before adding the next. Scrape the bowl, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat at low speed for 15 seconds. increase to the highest speed you can and whip for 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Buttercream should increase in volume and stiffen.
Frost cooled cupcakes with a generous swirl of frosting (if you made the full recipe), of a lighter swirl if you made the lesser amount. I knife-frosted some of mine, which I like the look of, to make the frosting go further. Optional, you can sprinkle with sanding sugar and more cinnamon. Enjoy this deliciously rich cupcake with buttery, not-so-sweet but wonderfully spiced frosting. You won't regret it.
*If you like parties, or cupcakes, or pretty books, you should get this book. I have been repeatedly dropping my husband hints that I'd like to own a copy of it (since it is due back to the library this week). Here's a link to the book on Amazon.
**To make cake flour, measure one cup of flour into a bowl. Remove two tablespoons of flour, and add two tablespoons of corn starch. Whisk together, and then sift together at least 3 times so that the corn starch is completely incorporated.
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