Soft, Spiced Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
If you’re a fan of snickerdoodle cookies, you’re going to love these snickerdoodle cupcakes! The cupcakes themselves are so tender and moist, thanks to cake flour and buttermilk, and the spiced icing has both butter and cream cheese (and a touch of brown sugar!) for a rich, smooth flavor. Like my snickerdoodle blondies, these cupcakes also have a touch of cream of tartar for that signature snickerdoodle tang. This recipe is super simple, with no tricky techniques or ingredients necessary. It comes together in less than an hour and makes 12 beautifully frosted cupcakes. With Christmas just over a week away, you still have enough time to add these to your dessert menu–and if your family is anything like mine, they won’t last long!
What You Need
Here are a few of the key ingredients that make these snickerdoodle cupcakes really special:
Butter and oil. A blend of oil and butter gives the cupcakes the best flavor (from the butter) AND the best texture (oil adds moisture). I don’t recommend substituting one for the other. Use softened (not melty) unsalted butter and any neutral cooking oil. Eggs. Room temperature eggs work best. If you forget to set yours out to thaw, just let them sit in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Flour. Unlike most of my recipes, I recommend using cake flour for these snickerdoodle cupcakes. Make sure you measure your flour properly; accidentally over-measuring your flour can cause dry cupcakes.Cream of tartar. You can’t have snickerdoodle cupcakes without cream of tartar! Cream of tartar provides the tang that is synonymous with snickerdoodles. I do not recommend using a substitute.Cinnamon. Like cream of tartar, you need cinnamon in any snickerdoodle dessert. Buttermilk. Besides adding moisture and flavor, buttermilk contributes to the slight tangy flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use my easy buttermilk substitute.Cream cheese. I use cream cheese in the frosting to add to that signature tangy snickerdoodle flavor. Do not use the spreadable cream cheese that comes in a tub! Use softened, block-style cream cheese. Sugar. We’ll need both light brown sugar and powdered sugar for the frosting and granulated sugar for the cake itself. Cream or milk. This helps the frosting whip into a light and fluffy texture. Heavy cream is my preference, but you can use milk if it’s all you have.Salt and vanilla. For flavor. Use your homemade vanilla extract if you have it!
SAM’S TIP: If you find the frosting to be too sweet, you can add a ¼ teaspoon of salt to cut the sweetness. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Overmixing can cause your snickerdoodle cupcakes to end up dense, dry, or rock-hard. To avoid this, once you have creamed together your wet ingredients, switch over to a spatula and combine by hand. You want the batter to be uniform, but not overmixed. SAM’S TIP: While I always recommend keeping an oven thermometer in your oven to make sure the temperature is accurate, you’ll still want to use the toothpick test to check if your cupcakes are done. Ideally the toothpick should come out with moist crumbs–not wet batter. This means the cupcakes are nearly completely baked, and they’ll finish fully baking in the cupcake tin as they cool. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are definitely finished baking (and could potentially even be overbaked at this point), so remove them immediately. This frosting is a modification of my classic cream cheese frosting. It uses slightly more butter and less cream cheese than the original, which I think allows the signature cinnamon/sugar flavors to shine while still providing that classic tanginess! Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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