Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

One type of cookie that I absolutely love is the snickerdoodle. (Who am I kidding? Almost all types of cookies are somewhere on my "most loved desserts" list. Haha!) Snickerdoodles are basically just sugar cookies covered in cinnamon sugar... So simple, yet so good! Not to mention they make me think of Christmas which of course brings back a lot of happy memories and good feelings.

Although I like cookies, my husband isn't actually a big fan of them (unless they're my iced lemon cookies which are his favorite!). So that means whenever I make them, there's a little bit of a bummed out sigh from John that I didn't make something else for him to enjoy along with a tiny bit of guilt from me as I try to ignore the fact that the kids and I ate more than half of them ourselves... in the first day... lol.

So, as much as I love cookies (and actually most desserts...) I also really like to try out different cupcake and cake flavors. The one I made this week was snickerdoodle. I actually made this type of cupcake when I made Amanda's wedding cupcakes, but I tried a new icing this time which turned out heavenly, so... you're welcome.

They're actually super simple and yummy. Here's how to make them. 

Make the batter for a white/vanilla cake mix (yellow should work as well). And add 1-2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. I added 1 teaspoon in these, but 2 teaspoons would definitely give them a stronger snickerdoodle flavor. Fill 24 cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. If you don't get a perfect 24 liners filled, it's totally fine and normal in case you didn't know. Don't go getting crazy over it.

Bake the cupcakes according to the package directions. Once they're done, allow them to cool before frosting them.

To make the frosting, put 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) of softened butter in a bowl and whip until creamy. Next, add 3 3/4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and 3-4 Tablespoons of milk. As a tip, only add about a third of the powdered sugar at a time so it doesn't create a giant powder cloud in your kitchen. Combine the ingredients until smooth. 

Once the cupcakes are cool enough that they won't melt the icing, you can frost them. I used a piping bag with no tip in it. After icing them, I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top of them. You could skip that part if you'd like, but If you're already making these super simple cupcakes, you might as well add the finishing touch.

The last step is to enjoy them sitting by the fire along with a cup of hot cocoa... or at the beach if you're making them for Christmas in July. Nothin' wrong with that.