Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

My roommate and I had a bunch of our friends over for the academy awards this weekend, and this is one of the desserts we decided to serve. I wanted a lighter cupcake to go with the rich dark chocolate cupcakes I was also making (recipe to follow!), and loved the idea of snickerdoodle cupcakes. They seemed fun, whimsical and - dunked in cinnamon sugar and topped with little snickerdoodle stars - completely delicious. The cake turned out incredibly moist and fluffy (thanks, I think, to the addition of the cake flour), and the frosting was creamy and loaded with cinnamon flavor. These were a lot of fun to make and, even better, were a complete hit with my friends. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:
cupcakes:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
8 tbsp butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup whole milk

frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

cookies:
see my perfect sugar cookie recipe
(before baking, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar)

Directions:
for cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with muffin cup liners
In a small bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, or until pale and fluffy
Beat in eggs and vanilla
Add dry ingredients in two/three batches, stirring each time just until incorporated
Add milk and stir to combine
Fill cupcake liners almost to the top and bake about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick
inserted into the center comes out clean

for frosting:
Cream all ingredients together until smooth

to assemble:
Fill pastry bag with frosting and pipe onto cooled cupcakes
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, stick cookie into frosting, and serve!


10-12 cupcakes