Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

After I made these I went around for days bragging that I had made cupcakes from scratch for the first time. Quite an accomplishment for me since I LOVE cupcakes, I usually make them with a cake mix, instead of from scratch. These were so good! And I love Snickerdoodles, so for that reason they were doubly good. I'm a slacker with posting pictures, see a picture here with the original recipe.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

2 ¼ cups cake flour*
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
2 ¼ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 cup milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the flour and milk, alternating between the two until well incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl whenever needed. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Evenly distribute the batter between the cups (about 2 dozen). Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes. Top with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon-sugar on top if desired.

* add 1 tablespoon cornstarch per 1 cup all purpose flour to make your own cake flour. Add the cornstarch to the bottom of the cup and fill the rest of the cup with flour.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp butter, at room temperature
4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
½ tsp cinnamon

Cream the cream cheese and butter until creamy and smooth. Add half the sugar, milk, vanilla (or almond) and cinnamon. Mix until smooth. Add remaining sugar and beat until light and fluffy and creamy. **Add more powdered sugar if you want it to be a stiffer consistency for decorating.

**I made the recipe into 1 & 1/2 of the original recipe to make more cupcakes since the original recipe only made 18 cupcakes. I would still change it a bit for high altitude baking. If you are higher than 3000 ft, you may want to add a tbsp or two of flour to the batter before cooking for better rising.