The Rainy Day Baker

I had no intention of writing about Hurricane Sandy in this space but a particular moment in the beginning of the storm had me laughing for a while.

Prior to losing power, DVH and I took inventory of our working flashlights, of which there were few. So we charged up our devices and downloaded flashlight apps that we assumed would either use the camera’s flash to stream steady light or provide a totally white screen.

When the power clicked off around 7:30 the night of the storm, DVH reached for his iPad and turned on the previously downloaded but untested app. Much to our amusement, the resulting “light” was not what we had been expecting.

DVH & his flashlight app
(Taken with camera flash off)

DVH & his flashlight app.
(Taken with camera flash on.)

I’m coming up empty with creative ways to segue from the storm into today’s recipe so I’m just going to make a blanket statement that Most people don’t like hurricanes; they like Snickerdoodles.

And I’m one of them as long as they’re soft and chewy.

Not a fan of a crunchy doodle.

But a snickerdoodle cupcake is a sure thing. A single bite yields dense, soft cake (not unlike a donut) and just a dollop of brown sugar butter cream is all it takes to achieve that little something sweet on top.

To me, the cinnamon flavor of Snickerdoodle-anything screams October through December. It’s a fire-in-the-fireplace, crunchy leaves, cozy blanket, cup of tea-type treat. And a fantastic one at that.

Did I mention this recipe uses a boxed cake mix? Easy!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Source: Unknown

Cupcakes:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Brown Sugar Buttercream:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup half and half, more if needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Line cupcake pans with 24 paper liners

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the cake mix, milk and butter.
Once well mixed, add in the eggs, vanilla and cinnamon and mix on medium-high for two minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake 17-21 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when pressed.
Allow to cool on wire racks before frosting.

To make the frosting, begin by beating the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together until fluffy.
Add in the vanilla and mix well.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and half and half, alternating each.
Beat on high for 2 minutes.
Add in additional powdered sugar or half and half depending on the frosting consistency you desire.