A 12 Days of Cupcakes Project #3

I know you have been waiting for cupcake #3!!  The first dessert I ever made from scratch without the assistance of my mom were Snickerdoodles =)  I was so proud of myself and they tasted great too or that is the memory that I would like to have...LOL!  My cousin and I were chatting the other night about the upcoming annual cookie swap that we attend during the holidays and she kept mentioning Snickerdoodles...of course the wheels started churning and I went in search of a Snickerdoodle cupcake or even a muffin recipe...to my surprise Martha Stewart and Bakerella became my inspiration with a Snickerdoodle Cupcake that embodies both a cupcake and the cookie =)  a DUO DESSERT!

SNICKERDOODLE CUPCAKES
Yields about 15 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.

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. Place about 3 inches apart.

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.

I whipped up my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe to decorate these babies.  They were very yummy and a big hit with  the teachers at my kids school!  I will be making these again in the near future!

Enjoy and remember to EAT DESSERT FIRST!

recipe adapted from http://www.bakerella.com/snickerdoodle-duo/

A 12 DAYS OF CUPCAKES PROJECT

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND (with cupcakes of course)!  Silly me thought it would be fun to embark on my own cupcake challenge of posting 12 different cupcakes during this Holiday Season!  I then realized that I was asking a bit much of myself and enlisted the help of my BFF Denise so that she could showoff her baking skills as well.  We have been pondering recipes since the summer so it should be pretty fun and interesting!  We hope you will check back often to see what yummy treats we have displayed and don't forget to EAT DESSERT FIRST!!

I am starting the project off with a very yummy APPLE CINNAMON ROLL CUPCAKE!  I was trying to use up some apples left over from apple picking so I decided to go with my favorite dessert (cinnamon rolls combined with lots of apples and cinnamon)!  ENJOY!




FINELY CHOPPED FUJI APPLES...YUMMO!

CUPCAKE ROLLS OVEN READY!

CINNAMON APPLE GOODNESS!



Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Adapted from Stephani Pollack from Cupcake Project via Paula Deen

Dough:
2 cups milk
1 packet active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups finely chopped apples (I used FUJI apples chopped in my Purple Cuisine Art Mini Prep from Sur La Table)

**instead of the ground nutmeg and cloves I used 1/4 tsp of The Pampered Chef's Cinnamon Plus it has cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, orange peel and allspice**

In a small saucepan, heat milk to about 110 degrees.  Add yeast and sugar to bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the milk, stir to dissolve.  Add salt and two cups of flour and beat for two minutes.  Beat in eggs and butter.  Stir in the remaining flour half a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Switch to dough hook and knead about five minutes, until smooth and elastic. ***ALL OF THIS SEEMED REALLY WEIRD TO ME SO I DUMPED IN THE FLOUR AND MIXED AND KNEADED BY HAND***  Spray a large deep bowl with cooking spray, shape dough into a ball, put it in the bowl, turn once to coat and cover it with a clean towel.  Set in a warm place and allow to rise for about 40 minutes or until doubled in volume.

Meanwhile make the filling by combining the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and apples in a small bowl **I didn't add the apples to the filling as the juice from the apples will make it too soupy** 
Melt remaining butter in a small dish. 

Dust counter top with flour and roll out dough into a long rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush with all  of the melted butter.  Top with the apple mixture, sprinkle evenly over the dough (I sprinkled the apples over the cinnamon mixture), leaving about an inch empty on all sides.

Line cupcake pans with 24 liners.  Roll dough into a log beginning on the long side of the rectangle.  Trim off both ends to remove the uneven part that doesn't have any filling.  Slice the log into approximately 24 even pieces (be sure not to cut them too thick).  Place each piece in a cupcake liner, folding the ends together to make a “C” shape. The pieces should come to about the top of the liners.  I covered the tops of the rolls with filling that managed to come out while rolling (no need to waste any yummy goodness).  Cover the cupcake tins with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons milk

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk until combined.  Start with one tablespoon of milk and add more as necessary until you have a glaze that is thick but runs easily off the spoon.  Drizzle over warm cupcakes and serve.  Store in an airtight container and reheat leftover cupcakes in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving.

***HOPEFULLY YOURS WILL TASTE AS GOOD AS MINE!  IF YOU KNOW MY STYLE OF BAKING I DON'T MEASURE BUT I FIGURED YOU WOULD WANT A LITTLE ACCURACY***

Don't forget to always EAT DESSERT FIRST!