Snickerdoodle cupcakes

Last night, I had the itch to bake. I know, that isn't really a stretch for me, but oh well! My co-worker's last day is today, and I wanted to bring a little something to mark the day at work.

I've been borrowing quite a few cookbooks from the library recently; they're my version of eye candy (pardon the pun). One of the books currently in my hot little hands is a cupcake book by Martha Stewart. (OK, I don't know if she actually wrote it or if it is just something she staffed out, but it has her name on it.). It has quite a few recipes that I want to try, but decided on this as my maiden voyage and am really glad I did. It was easy, fast, and produced a tasty treat.

The recipe called for using seven-minute frosting, but because I made the cupcakes last night and was concerned the frosting wouldn't hold up, I just made a basic butter-based buttercream frosting; it worked out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I also didn't do the exact frosting method that good ol' Martha called for; instead, I went for more of a flower than a dome of frosting, which looks prettier, if you ask me!

I halved the recipe and had plenty of cupcakes to share. I think I wound up with 18 or 19. The original recipe's yield is 28; they must use much bigger cupcake pans than I have. Regardless of how many you want to make, I have to give the recipe a big thumbs up. They are very yummy and seem to be a hit among my co-workers.

Snickerdoodle cupcake

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Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/316419/snickerdoodle-cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (Ateco No. 809 or Wilton No. 1A), pipe frosting on each cupcake: Hold bag over cupcake with tip just above top, and squeeze to create a dome of frosting, then release pressure and pull up to form a peak. Using a small, fine sieve, dust peaks with cinnamon-sugar. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted; keep at room temperature until ready to serve. 

Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

I've been asked to share the gin and tonic cupcake recipe, but wanted to do a bit more fine tuning before making the recipe public. I kept meaning to get to it, but life continued to get in the way (go figure!), but I decided today was the day to work on the recipe and get it to a place I'm happy with.

Summer has (finally) arrived in Seattle, which didn't exactly make me jump at the idea of heating up our kitchen with wild enthusiasm. Instead, I scaled the recipe to a size that would fit in our toaster oven. I have 9 silicone muffin cups and they fit on the cookie sheet that came with the toaster oven, so that's what I wound up making. You can definitely scale the recipe up to make more than 9 cupcakes!

Without further ado: Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

Yield: 9 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1/4 c butter (at room temp)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 + 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c milk
• 1/8 c gin (I used Bombay Sapphire)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 T lime zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In medium bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until smooth.
3. Add sugar, egg, and lime zest. Mix well.
4. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk a few times to remove any lumps.
5. Pour milk and gin into a measuring cup (one with a spout is helpful).
6. Alternate adding the flour mixture (1/3 at a time) and the milk/gin mixture (1/2 at a time) to the butter/sugar mixture. Note: Start and end with adding the flour mixture and mix well after each addition.
7. Spray paper muffin cups with non-stick spray.
8. Spoon batter into muffin cups (fill each cup about 3/4 full)
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
10. Place on wire rack to cool.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 4 T butter
• 2 T Crisco
• 9 1/2 T gin (again, I used Bombay Sapphire)
• 3/4-1 tsp True Lime (use less or more depending upon how "limey" you want it
• 5 c powdered sugar
• 1 T whipping cream

Directions:

1. In  medium bowl, mix butter and Crisco with electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add 2 c. powdered sugar and True Lime. Mix well.
3. Add gin. Mix well.
4. Add remaining powdered sugar or enough until you get a smooth frosting; the exact amount will vary depending upon your local climate.
5. When cupcakes are completely cool, pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes.
6. EAT UP!!