Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Turn your favorite snickerdoodle cookie into a cupcake! These cupcakes are topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting too.

With the fourth of July creeping up on me, I finally decided to dive into one of the newer cookbooks that joined my obnoxious collection, United States of Cakes: Tasty Traditional American Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Baked Goods. Seems like the appropriate time for such a cookbook, right? While I originally was eyeing the Magnolia Bakery’s banana cake due to a plethora of overripe bananas at the time, as you may have noticed I ended up making sourdough banana bread instead. Back the the drawing board! While there were other non-cake things I was caught salivating over such as the salted caramel chocolate tart, I eventually narrowed it down to two cupcakes: lemon meringue or snickerdoodle. I assume your excellent skills of observation have already deduced that the snickerdoodles won. When do they not?

These cupcakes taste like the real deal. That is if a snickerdoodle was a cupcake topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. For me, I knew this cupckae was going to win the moment I saw cream cheese in the frosting ingredient list. Cream cheese frosting gets me. While I will scrape off excess amounts of buttercream frosting, cake suddenly becomes a vehicle for frosting when it’s covered in cream cheese frosting. I think it is because it reminds me simultaneously of unbaked cake batter and cheesecake. And I have very little will-power to resist either of those two things. And yes, I have made cake batter cream cheese frosting before, and cake batter cheesecake. They rocked my face off. But now is not the time for that, we must focus on these snickerdoodle cupcakes and all their glory.

One year ago: Red, White & Berry Hand Pies

Two years ago: Creamy Chicken and Herb Skillet

SNICKERDOODLE CUPCAKES

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

CUPCAKES

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

1/2 cup (1 stick) + 1 tsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

FROSTING

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (6 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cinnamon-sugar, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Line a cupcake pan with wrappers, set aside.
2. In a large bowl (or stand mixer with the blade), mix together the dry ingredients. Add the butter and mix for a minute. Stir in the Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Fill the wrappers 3/4 full with batter and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl (or stand mixer with the whisk), beat the butter and cream cheese together, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally with a spatula. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and whisk for one minute on low speed. Turn it up to maximum speed and whisk until thick.
5. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Source: Adapted slightly from the United States of Cakes cookbook.

Items you may need (affiliate links):