And the Birthday Marathon continues!
Our daughter, Hatti, turns 9 this weekend. And I really am beside myself, wondering, “How did those years pass by so quickly?” Of course, for her, that time has travelled a bit more slowly, as she has had her sights set on “double digits” for a few years now. 
Hatti has never been the typical cake with frosting kind of girl when it comes to celebrating her birthday. After taking one, maybe two, bites out of her first few years’ worth of decorated cakes and cupcakes, I changed my approach. I wanted her to have her cake…and eat it, too!
So for the next few years, I made chocolate chip cookie cakes, decorated brownie cakes, and layered brownie towers. And she happily ate her cake!
This year, however, I daringly ventured back into cupcake world with a recipe I was quite certain Hatti would approve of. After seeing Martha Stewart’s cute as can be Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, and knowing Hatti’s love for that famous cookie, I confidently gave these cupcakes a shot.
The original recipe’s Seven-Minute Frosting, however, received only so-so reviews online. So I exchanged it for a slightly sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting. I just can’t go wrong with cream cheese frosting in this house. I do think it was a brilliant change-up.
And to my delight, so did Hatti! These pretty little cakes were completely embraced by her. Hatti ate cake!!
The cupcakes were moist and beautifully fragrant all on their own. Then, topped with a puffy swirl of cream cheese frosting and a dusting of cinnamon-sugar, they were made snickerdoodle-perfect.
Happy Birthday, sweet Hatti!
Birthday Kisses - Hatti and her grandpas, 2008
Hatti and my dad (on the right) share the same March birthday, and Blake’s dad (on the left) celebrates just two days before them. We have been blessed to share many birthday celebrations together. And this is one of my favorite photos in the whole wide world.
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
(print recipe)
for the cupcakes:
1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 c. cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 T. cinnamon
1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-3/4 c. sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/4 c. milk
for the cinnamon-sugar dusting:
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. sugar
Preheat oven to 350°. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
Divide the batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
Mix together the 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl for dusting the frosting. Set aside.
Yield: about 28 regular size cupcakes
Source: adapted slightly from “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes”. Here is the original cupcake recipe with the Seven-Minute Frosting.
for the cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 c. powdered sugar, sifted
Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and cinnamon and beat just to combine.
Slowly add sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip (I used Ateco No. 808), pipe frosting on each cupcake. Immediately finish by dusting the frosting with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Source: a farmgirl’s dabbles
To see the prior Birthday Marathon sweets, please visit these posts:
Toffee Brownie Cake,
to celebrate Blake’s dad’s birthday
Mom’s German Chocolate Cake,
to celebrate my dad’s birthday
I’m linking up with:
Cheryl at TidyMom for “I’m Lovin’ It”
Allison at Alli n Son for “Sweet Tooth Friday”
Kim at Quit Eating Out for “Saturday Swap”
OH! These look so yummy. Hope we get to taste them soon. Happy birthday to our dear Hatti!
Thanks, Mom. xoxo
These look awesome! Love the photos you are taking! Happy Birthday to Hatti and your other precious family members. Don’t you just love birthday marathons? Ours is in November…makes the holiday season a little crazy…but so fun to celebrate!
Blessings to you!
Holly
http://hallelujahsbyholly.blogspot.com
Lovely to hear from you again, Holly! xoxo
These look great! I love snickerdoodles!
Thank you, Kim!
What a sweet girl… happy birthday!!! These cupcakes looks amazing!
Thank you, Amanda.
Happy Birthday, Miss Hatti! I love Snickerdoodles and Snickerdoodle cupcakes too. I used this recipe of Martha’s and adapted it too, to make my Schoolbread cupcakes. Schoolbread is a Norwegian sweet bun, almost like a donut, with custard in the middle and cardamom in the dough. I made these cupcakes and filled them with vanilla pudding, and then put frosting on top, and toasted coconut (which is also on the traditional Schoolbread) on top of that. They were SO good!
Amber | Bluebonnets & Brownies recently posted..Operation Layla
Thanks, Amber. I’ve never heard of Schoolbread cupcakes, so will have to check yours out – thanks!
Oh Yes, Yes…me likey!!!!
http://willcookforsmiles.blogspot.com/
Lyuba recently posted..Strawberry Cream Cups
Yum! I love cream cheese frosting!
Thanks for linking up with Sweet Tooth Friday.
Allison @ Alli ‘n Son recently posted..Sweet Tooth Friday- Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Great to hear from you, Allison!
Happy birthday to Hatti! These cupcakes look super sweet! I’m glad she enjoyed them, although, I would have been happy to take any leftovers off her hands.
Hi Tracy – I’ll pass along the birthday greetings. Thank you!
Happy birthday to your little one!
(Or not so little.)
I’m with you….cream cheese frosting can do no wrong in this house! Those cupcakes sound perfect!
Lovely to hear from you, Bridget! I’ll be sure to have Hatti read all these birthday greetings.
Mmm looks great! How do you get the marshmallow topping to go so pretty and curly?
Happy birthday to your relatives too
Harriet recently posted..25 More Debt Written Off By Banks
Thank you! Just a little practice, Harriet, on the frosting!
these are adorable and look fantastic! where did you get the little stand?
Thank you so much, Lisa – it was fun to see you this week! I got the stand at an awesome shop in Watertown, SD, where my parents live. But I know I’ve seen some online as well – after just a quick search: http://www.farmhousewares.com/cupcakestands.aspx
Happy birthday, sweet Hatti!
Shaina recently posted..Celebrating St Patrick’s Day with Colcannon
Thanks, Shaina!
Oh, how adorable she is, and how adorable those cupcakes are too! I hope you have a wonderful birthday weekend celebrating with your family.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen recently posted..chocolate and milk toast when comfort is needed
Thank you so much, Sylvie. Today’s gonna be a BIG party!
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them – with the cream cheese frosting of course.
yum! Those sound amazing and definitely worth trying.
Happy Birthday to your adorable daughter! Your cupcakes are beautifully photographed and one day I just make make a snickerdoodle cupcake or cookie for that matter. Never had one yet.
These look wonderful! I agree cream cheese frosting is awesome!!Really like your blog.
isn’t this recipe great? i also put cream cheese frosting as well instead of seven-minute frosting. i just LOVE the sprinkling of the cinnamon sugar… my friends go crazy for it.
boogie recently posted..AJ’s Toy Story Cake
I love snickerdoodle cookies. They are not well known in Australia and I made them out of curiousity from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I’d love to give these cupcakes a go.
tinytearoom recently posted..Fig and Goat’s Cheese Tart
Oh! these look great! I can’t wait to make them!
lynne recently posted..An uber healthy- yet delicious- salad made with a fancy shmancy grain
these look delicious! and super cute styling… love the colors!!
How sweet! These look magical, with that bit of sparkle…perfect for a birthday indeed.
Joyti recently posted..Tiramisu Cupcakes
Just found your website after searching for snickerdoodle cupcakes! I also heard mixed reviews about the 7 minute frosting which I have never made so I was glad to find your cream cheese frosting recipe! Great job and I love your site!
Hey!
I was wondering if the cream cheese frosting was enough to frost all 28 cupcakes, I’ve read a lot of recipes that usually call for double the cream cheese for 24 cupcakes!
Lovely recipe, and belated happy birthday to your little girl!
Thanks!! =)
That frosting recipe is all I used for my cupcakes, but you can see I didn’t pile on an excessive amount of frosting onto each cupcake. It was more like a little cap sitting in the middle of the cupcake top. If you want to frost out to the edges and pile it high, yes, I would increase the quantity. Thanks for stopping by, Ashley!
Oooh! I can’t wait to try these! Snickerdoodles have always been one of my favorites, as are just about any cupcake. Put them together and I am expecting Happy Mouth! Perhaps I’ll make these up for my birthday in August instead of a regular cake..hmm. Got my wheels turning now! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
Just made these — so light & fluffy and of course delicious
I have a prior recipe that is basically the same, except with buttercream & I now think I prefer the cream cheese frosting instead!
Hi Darci – great to hear from you, thanks for letting me know – have a great weekend!
I just made these and I need to figure out why they turned out dry. I have a thermometer in my oven so I was spot on for the temp, I reduced the time because I make mini’s. The frosting is also a little less stiff than I wanted but overall these are a hit in flavor!
Hello Stacey – I’ve made these several times and haven’t had any issues. I haven’t made minis, however, and do know that they usually require less baking time than I always guess. I would try baking for even less time – and check with a toothpick fairly early on, and then continue to check after every minute or so until they are just done. The frosting is not stiff. I would say it has a softly medium consistency. I would just make sure your cream cheese is just barely at room temperature when you start making it. And if it’s too soft for your liking/piping, chill the finished frosting for 20 or 30 minutes before piping. I hope this helps – best wishes!
I agree on all your suggestions, once I had them in the refrigerator for a bit the frosting set up well, but it does soften back up fairly quickly once they are set out for guests. It didn’t fall though (which was my concern) so overall an A rating for this one, thanks!
i made snickerdoodles in school like a 100yrs ago just kidding but ilove them so much i am going to try your cupcake recipe. thank you very much. debbie
Hello, this sounds lovely, and I am going to try it, I am a fairly reasonable baker but I just have a few precisions, we don’t have cake flour, would you mind having a look at the package and letting me know whats added to the flour to make it cake flour and I would also like to know if when you say 24 cupcakes are they quite small. I guess I am trying to find out how to make around 12 what I would call queen or fairy cakes. The cupcakes I have seen in france made by american bakers seem almost half the size of ‘regular for me’ cupcakes or buns, about a big inch in diameter? thank you in advance for your help. The caramel ones look spectacular also. will have to give those a whirl -thanks
g