Snickerdoodle cupcakes scream fall with its cinnamon flavor and out of this world frosting. Your bound to love these cupcakes. And everything they have to offer.
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
These snickerdoodle cupcakes are beyond average and packed with flavor. From the brown sugar to the cinnamon. What’s not to love? Lets get a little more technical.
The Sugar & Spices
Snickerdoodle cupcakes are basically the cookie in cake form. These cupcakes are fluffy, moist, and loaded with cinnamon and sugar goodness. In this recipe, ground cinnamon is used. Cinnamon is aromatic with a sweet wood fragrance. As soon as the cinnamon is added to the batter, the smell of fall becomes overwhelming. Warning, your bound to start smiling from ear-to-ear. In addition to cinnamon, light brown sugar is also used. Light brown sugar provides that rich goodness. Since, light brown sugar contains a less molasses compared to dark brown sugar. The cupcakes are still a little light in color. If you desire to create a darker colored cupcake, use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar.
To get the same field of a snickerdoodle cookie cinnamon sugar is added. The cinnamon sugar is sprinkled on top of each cupcake before baking. In order to make cinnamon sugar you’ll need 4 items. To create a fine powder grab a sifter. Also, grab a bowl for the cinnamon sugar. Next, take some granulate sugar and ground cinnamon. Using a ratio of 1:4 will work, just sift both ingredients together. This helps combine the sugar and cinnamon evenly.
In addition to the cinnamon, a little fresh nutmeg is added as well. This ingredient is totally optional. Whole nutmeg has a stronger flavor profile compared to pre-packaged ground nutmeg. Like cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg has this aromatic field. In the case of these cupcakes, the nutmeg adds a nutty sweet flavor.
The Brown Butter Frosting
These snickerdoodle cupcakes need a killer frosting to match. This frosting is unbelievably fluffy, light, and filled with goodness. What’s that amazing goodness? It’s brown butter of course. As well as cinnamon and fresh nutmeg. Why add spices? These cupcakes are all about sugar, spice, and everything nice. So, the cinnamon and nutmeg simply add that necessary finishing touch. Also, it cuts down the sweetness of the frosting. Since powdered sugar is used and can be very sweet. If not a fan of these spices, use cream cheese or creme fraiche to cut down the sweetness.
A little more on… Brown Butter
Making brown butter is thoroughly explained in our brown butter chocolate cookie post. But, as a reminder we’ll briefly go over the technique. Brown butter is achieved by melting the butter over heat in a saucepan. This brown butter has a beautiful caramel color due to cooking milk solids. Butter contains 80% fat and 20% a mixture of milk solids/water. When you allow the butter to cook for a few minutes you’ll start to notice a pleasant smell. The smell is a combination of roasted nuts and caramel. If the butter cooks for just a few minutes more. You’ll notice an unpleasant smell and unfortunately the butter is now burnt. There’s a fine line between the brown and burnt butter. It’s important to watch the butter carefully in order to avoid an undesired product.
Solidified Brown Butter 
Whipping the brown butter 
Slowly adding powdered sugar to the brown butter
How do you make brown butter? Using a small or medium sized saucepan add 1 stick of unsalted butter. Melt this butter over a medium-high heat. In order to see the color of the butter, I recommend using a light colored pan or turning on the light over the stove. Whisk the pan around occasionally. The butter will begin to brown when foam occurs. Once you notice a nutty scent, remove the butter from the heat.
Snickderdoodle Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1½ cup All purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter softened
- 2 Egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1½ tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup Sour cream room temperature
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 3/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup Light brown sugar
For Cinnamon Sugar:
- 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon sifted
- 1/4 cup Granulated sugar sifted
For Brown Butter Frosting:
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter
- 2½ cup Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 tsp Cinnamon optional
- 1/2 tsp Grated nutmeg optional
- 3 Tbsp Plain Almond Milk
Instructions
For the Cupcakes/Cinnamon Sugar:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, sift together the salt, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, grated nutmeg, and ground cinnamon. Whisk well and set aside.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the whole milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, mix together the softened unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Allow to mix for 3-5 minutes. Then add the 2 egg whites to the electric mixer.
- Reduce the speed of the electric mixer to low. Alternate between adding 2/3 cup of dry ingredients and 2/3 cup of wet ingredients to the electric mixer. Continue this process until all ingredients are added. Turn off the mixer as soon as all the flour is fully incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Fill until two-thirds full (3-4 tablespoons of batter per cupcake liner). For the cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl, sift together the ground cinnamon and granulated sugar. Sprinkle roughly 1/2 teaspoon on top of each cupcake before baking.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Leave in muffin tin for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
For Brown Butter Frosting:
- Using a saucepan over medium heat add the unsalted butter. Allow the butter to melt with occasional stirring of the pan. Cook the butter for 5-8 minutes. The butter will begin to brown when foam occurs. Once you notice a nutty scent, remove the butter from the heat. Allow to cool down and hardened before continuing.
- Add the cool brown butter to an electric mixer. Beat until fluffy 1-3 minutes. Next add in the sifted powdered sugar a little at a time. Beat until smooth and creamy. (Note: If the mixture becomes too thick, add in the Almond milk).
- Mix in the vanilla extract and optional ground cinnamon and grated nutmeg. Use the frosting as desired.