A new challenge ..

So I will admit I really do have a Pinterest addiction.  I am telling those who haven’t joined Pinterest, don’t do it!  Lol I am constantly on it and finding some many new crafts and recipes.  My issue is that I keep finding new things; however, I haven’t been that good in doing or trying them.  So I am going to change this!  During one of many browses on Pinterest, I found this lady’s blog on 52 cupcakes.  She is going to make 52 different types of cupcakes in a year.  I thought this sounds awesome, maybe I should give myself a challenge doing something I love!  And hey, I already have probably already found about 25 different types of cupcakes on Pinterest already! Lol 

So here I am in week one of a 52 week challenge!  This week I decided to make snickerdoodle cupcakes!  I have wanting to make these for a while and finally made them!  Let me just saw they are awesome and I will definitely be making these again!  I found the recipe originally from: http://www.bakerella.com/snickerdoodle-duo/.  After reading through her blog post however, she didn’t recommend the icing she used, so I went on the search for a new icing. Now I am not really a fan of icing, and I think it just comes from making cakes.  However, I found a cream cheese icing for these cupcakes and I was like perfect.  I got the icing recipe from: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/11/snickerdoodle-cookie-cupcakes/.  Once I found all of the recipe’s I went food shopping and got all my supplies. 

I figured, I start with the cookies, as I feel like they would be the most work.  Here is the original Snickerdoodle Recipe from marthastewart.com, which I found on Bakerella’s blog. It makes about 4 dozen cookies.  And Bakerella tweaked it slightly to make about 20 cookies.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar on medium for about 2 minutes.
• Add egg and mix until combined.
• Add the flour mixture and beat until combined.
• In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.
• Use a small 1 1/4 inch ice-cream scoop to form balls. Release in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll until covered. When coated, you can shape them in a nice round ball and place on the baking sheet. (reserve any leftover cinnamon sugar to top the cupcakes)
• Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to crack. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

The recipe was pretty easy, compared to other snickerdoodle cookies I have made in the past.  Especially because most snickerdoodle recipes you have to chill the cookie batter in fridge for a few hours.   I used a tablespoon to separate out the batter which created the perfect size balls/cookies to top the cupcakes with. Below are some pictures I took while making them:

Cookie Batter:

Cookie in balls and rolled in sugar/cinnamon mixture, ready for the oven:

 

Cookies right out of the oven:

From the cookies, I moved on to the cupcakes.  I need to read before I make things, as I didn’t know until I made the batter that it was only for 12 cupcakes, not 24.  Here’s the original recipe from marthastewart.com that makes 28.  And here is Bakerella tweaked it slightly to make enough for 12 cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes (not shown).

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk, room temperature

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line regular and miniature cupcake trays with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium for about 2 minutes.
• Add eggs, one at a time and mix until combined.
• Add vanilla and mix until combined.
• Add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar in three additions. Alternate with milk in two additions.
• Fill baking cups about 3/4 full.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
• Remove cupcakes from trays and let cool.

This was also easy to make.  The only issue I ran into was it only made 12 and I wanted 24, and some of the ingredients need to be room temperature, which threw me off a little.  I also took some of the cinnamon sugar left over from cookies and sprinkled a little on top of the cookies prior to baking them.  Below are some more pictures from the process of making/baking them:

Cupcakes prior to baking:

Cupcakes right out the oven:

Last but not least was the icing.  I love cream cheese icing, so I was really hoping it would come out good.  Here is the recipe I got from: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/11/snickerdoodle-cookie-cupcakes/.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

·         Add butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until fluffy and combined.

·         Gradually add in powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing on medium speed and scraping down the sides of the bowl for 4-5 minutes.

·         Finish with adding cinnamon, then mixing until combined once more.

·         Frost cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar.

·         Cupcakes should be refrigerated after about 1-2 hours of sitting out.

This just like the rest was easy to make.  To decorate the cupcakes I frosted the cupcakes using a pastry bag and tip.  Now with the two different batches of cupcakes I made, I decorated the cupcake two different ways. 

One way:  After frosting the top of the cupcake, I put a little on the bottom of a cookie and placed on top of the icing.  I then created a dot on top of the cookie and sprinkled some of the cinnamon sugar on top.  It looked like this:

 

Second way:  After frosting the top of the cupcake, I dipped it into the cinnamon sugar mixture.  I then put a little frosting on the bottom of a cookie and placed on top.  This way looked like:

I personally preferred the second way, but either way the cupcake is good.  The only complaint I had was I felt like the cake was a little dry for my liking.  When I make them again, I will probably add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and see if that helps with the dryness. 

1.9% of my challenge complete .. now to think of next weeks!

Love always aloterella :)