Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Written by Jennifer Martin of Imitation by Design

If you’re like most folks, you have certain foods or flavors that instantly transport you back to your mother’s or grandmother’s kitchen table. Because I love to eat, I have a long list of these magical foods, but one in particular came to mind this weekend… snickerdoodles.

We ate a lot of these growing up because they were one of those cookies you nearly always had the ingredients in your pantry to make. I remember helping to roll the dough into balls and dredging them in cinnamon and sugar, sneaking little bites of cookie dough during the process.

As much as I LOVE cinnamon, I always forget to make these. Luckily, these incredible Snickerdoodle Cupcakes evoke the same memories of baking cookies with my mom and grandma.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes are like crack for cinnamon lovers. Seriously.

This recipe starts with a plain white or yellow cake mix that gets a boost of flavor with the addition of butter, vanilla and cinnamon to the batter. You’d be surprised at how changing a few of the ingredients in your cake mix’s recipe can fool friends and family into thinking you‘ve baked it from scratch.

This delectable cupcake is topped off with a simple, homemade cinnamon buttercream icing. Decorate them quickly by using a decorator’s bag and a large star tip or by filling a ziploc bag and snipping off the end to make speedy swirls on each cupcake.

Even if these Snickerdoodle Cupcakes don’t transport you home to mom’s kitchen, I hope they’ll tickle your taste buds.

Recipe

Cake:

1 plain white or yellow cake mix
1 c whole milk
½ c melted butter (1 stick)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line two 12 cup muffin pans with cupcake liners or dust and flour them.

2. In a large bowl combine all of the cake ingredients. Beat on low for one minute and then scrape down the sides. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat an additional 2 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally.

3. Use an ice cream scoop or a ¼ cup measuring cup to divide batter into muffin tins. I only got 20 muffins by using the scoop, but if you use a ¼ cup measuring cup, you can get 24.

4. Bake 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

5. Remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

6. Frost with recipe below.

Icing:

1 ½ sticks salted butter (not margarine) at room temperature
5-6 Tbsp milk
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
5 ½ c powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy.

2. With the mixer on low, add 4 tablespoons of milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, allowing each cup of sugar to be fairly well incorporated before adding another. (You could dump it in all at once, but you’ll be cleaning powdered sugar out of every nook and cranny in your kitchen for days. Just trust me on this one. ;))

3. Once the powdered sugar is fully incorporated, increase your mixer’s speed to medium and whip for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add more milk if needed to achieve desired consistency.

 

Jennifer lives in Hope, AR and is a wife and stay at home mom. She enjoys cooking, decorating, gardening and spending time with her family. Her blog Imitation by Design is her way of keeping track of her family’s favorite recipes and meals and sharing them with others.