{Simple Snickerdoodle Cupcakes}

My baby Bean went to his girlfriend's Homecoming this past weekend. Her Junior Homecoming. How can they be Juniors? That's just crazy talk.

I've gotten to the point where I can barely say "I can't wait" anymore. Time passes SO quickly, I can, in fact, wait. While there are things coming up that "I can't wait" for, like Christmas, the new Hobbit movie, our trip to Florida next year with Darla... I can WAIT. I don't want to wish time away, it's too darn precious. Sigh.

So, my Bean and his Girl.

1. Aren't they cute? I think so too.

and B. SLOW DOWN the growing! TOO FAST.

So, last week, I posted about the sadness that abounds here at the moment. I mentioned in that post that I made two different kinds of cupcakes that day. This recipe is for the second batch.

I love. love. love. Snickerdoodle cookies. My love for them is so deep that I created my Pumpkindoodle cookies. It seemed only right that I make Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. There is pretty much nothing NEW on the internet anymore, but these Snickerdoodle cupcakes start with a box mix.

You're welcome.

You'll add a bit of cinnamon to the batter, and, a few minutes into the baking, you'll add a little cinnamon sugar mix to the top of the cupcakes. It adds a great crunch to them. I really love it. Yes, I totally just patted myself on the back there. I'm sorry... but not really, cause YUMMEH. Then, you'll top it all with a Cinnamon Buttercream, and to top the top... sprinkle more cinnamon sugar. YES.

I have to say that these are some of my favorite cupcakes to date, and they are just so dang easy.

They are Bean's new favorite too!

Cinnamony and sweet, they are a lovely little cake.

I think you'll like them too. Try them soon, and be sure to slow down and enjoy the moments around you. They go far too fast.

Tina


Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Yield: 24 standard size cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350* F

For the cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients listed on box)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the Cinnamon Sprinkle:
6 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine together. 

Prepare cake according to box directions. Add in cinnamon and vanilla and mix to combine.
Scoop into prepared paper lined cupcake pans. Bake for 5 minutes. Open oven and pull out rack a little (do not remove pans from oven). As quickly as possible, sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon sprinkle over the tops of the cupcakes. You will have leftover cinnamon sprinkle. Return to bake for 14-16 more minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool.

For the Cinnamon Buttercream:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb. (about 4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

With mixer, beat butter for 3 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar and salt and cinnamon until well combined. Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Beat on high for 4 minutes. If too thick, add more cream 1/2 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.


Pipe onto cupcakes. Top cupcakes with the remaining cinnamon sprinkle.


Buttercream adapted from Bakingdom

{Pumpkindoodle Cookies}

My dog is adorable. She really is.

She's also dumb. I'm sorry, you people are getting your feathers all ruffled because I'm saying my pet is dumb. Please believe me when I tell you, SHE IS DUMB.

I love her, but... dumb.

You know that test where you throw the blanket over your dog and the quicker they get out from under it, the smarter they are? She just stands there. Endlessly. Stands. Until we take the blanket off.

She is afraid. Of EVERYTHING. A rustling bag, a piece of paper, leaves falling from the sky. Everything is terrifying. We live in the country and are surrounded by woods. There are very often hunters. Gun fire is THE MOST TERRIFYING thing ever. Well, that and fireworks. She has actual little doggy panic attacks.

Then, there is the screen. If the screen gets pulled and then the sliding door, well, she's gonna run into it. Not once. Not every once in a while. Every. Time.  We try to tell her to wait. She does not listen.

Bam! Luna, full force, into the screen. We try very hard not to pull the screen for this reason, but sometimes.. it happens. Luna face smash follows. Every. Time.

This story is pretty funny, right? Allow me to entertain you with the fact that my 16 year old, highly intelligent Honor Student has done the exact same thing. Open the sliding door, walk straight into the screen. He's done it with a glass door out in public once too.

I'm sorry, but funniest thing ever in ever.

Maybe I'm a bad doggie parent. Maybe I'm a bad parent. Funny.

You know what else is funny? The name of these cookies. You know what's NOT funny? The taste...
Cause yum.

Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie. I love them so much, that I only make them once or twice a year. The other day I was thinking about how soft and lovely Snickerdoodles were, when I came up with the idea to add pumpkin and fall spices. I wasn't even sure if it would work, but ya know what?

DID. They are pretty perfectly fall too. I love the tiny taste of pumpkin combined with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Bean loves them. My husband, who doesn't like Snickerdoodles (seriously, he even made up a 'recipe' for his own, which you can see here) OR pumpkin loves them.

One of my youth groupers, (I took cookies to church), even said that this was the perfect companion to a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Really now, who can say no to that??

This recipe, much like my dumb dog, and my... door challenged son, is a keeper.

Tina



Pumpkindoodle Cookies
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers
yield: 4 dozen 2 1/2" cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin 
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Coating:

3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 400 F

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use an ungreased sheet).

Cream together butter and shortening. Beat in sugars until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and pumpkin.
Mix in cream of tartar, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Slowly beat in flour.

In a small bowl, stir the 3 tablespoons sugar, teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ginger together.

Shape dough into 1 tablespoon sized balls, then roll into the coating mix. 

Place on baking sheet, and lightly flatten with the bottom of a cup. (Don't press down too hard, just enough to get the ball shape down a little.)

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

{ Lunch Box Treats }

Well, it's that time of year again.

You know this commercial?

Oh. My. Landsies. How it makes me laugh! I used to look forward to seeing it each year, but I don't think they've played it for a few.

However, this is NOT how I feel. I feel more like this:

Sighhhhhhhhhh......... I love having the Bean home in the summer. We run around together, have 'dates' once a week, we have a good time. Of course the last couple years have been eaten alive with his Summer Drama Troupe (takes up all of June), but still, we love the summer. More than anything though, more than the passing of holidays or the coming of birthdays, the start of the new school year always makes me realize how quickly he is growing up. He will be a Sophomore in High School this year. Oh Em WHAT? 15 years old, working on 6 foot tall, wearing a size ELEVEN shoe. Sad Panda Mom. So, school starts here on Wednesday. Crazy cakes, I know, but that's when it starts. On Sundays, during the school year, I always bake up a batch of cookies or cupcakes for his lunch. Today

I'm sharing several cookie recipes that you might have missed.

Here we go:

________________________________________________________________________

Cookie Dough Sandwich Cookies    Chocolate Chip Cookies filled with a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Buttercream

   

Peanut Butter Blossoms   Soft and chewy peanut butter cookie topped with a chocolate kiss (I used chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day here)    

 

Gooey Cookies & Red Velvet Cookies   Moist & delicious cookies that start with cake mix!  
 

 Double Trouble Cookies   Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches with a cream filling  
  

 Chocolate Chip Cookies   The all time favorite of most everybody!    
 

 
   Chewy Oatmeal Cookies   Rich & Buttery, these Oatmeal Cookies make fans out of even non-Oatmeal Cookie likers!    
 

Snickerdoodles   Sweet & lightly cinnamon-y, these are *my* favorite cookies. They aren't just for Christmas, folks!  
 

So, there you have it. Some of our favorites. Make some up for your munchkins & pop in their lunchboxes. They'll be the most popular kid at the lunch table. Just ask the Bean! In the meantime, I'll try not to be a Sad Panda. Cheer me up by posting below about your kids heading back to school. Are you excited? Nervous for them? Happy to have time to yourself? Or are you, like me, saddddddddddd pannnnnnnnda?

Tina

Shared at:

Everyday Mom's Meals

Six Sisters Stuff                    Michelle's Tasty Creations

{Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes & Clever Ideas from Bakingdom}

There's this blogger, who, I swear, if we lived closer, we'd totally be BFFs.

She'd come over, we'd pop in Harry Potter, plop down, munch on yummy deliciousness that we'd prepared, compare and contrast the books vs. the movies, and braid each others hair.

OK, braiding the hair would be weird, but we'd laugh and enjoy each others geeky company.

Or we'd watch reruns of Downton Abbey and sigh over the tragic love stories and shake our fists at the evil doers in the house.

Alas, she lives on the wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy other side of the country. Literally. I'm in Ohio, she's in Oregon. That's like way.far.

Like me, she loves, obviously, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, and Star Trek. Like me, she's a baker and a blogger.

However, her creatively far eclipses me. Far. And, not to be weird or cocky, but I think I'm pretty dang creative.

Not even close to Darla. Her site, Bakingdom, is so chock full of ideas, my head may implode.

See, she comes up with things like this April Showers cake that she just posted today

Photo property of Bakingdom

Then there are things like these

Homemade Salted Caramel Mocha Latte, Frappuccino, and CUPCAKES!

Photo property of Bakingdom

and  Rainbow Heart Layer Cake

Photo property of Bakingdom

or these Star Trek Cookies

Photo property of Bakingdom

There are things like these adorable Cinnamon Caramel Apple Pumpkins

Photo property of Bakingdom

And these lil baybee Pie Cakes

Photo property of Bakingdom

Next on my 'to try from Bakingdom' list are these

French Toast Cupcakes!

Photo property of Bakingdom

And DON'T EVEN get me started on her Harry Potter Treats!! Um. Yeah.

Hogwarts Cake

Photo property of Bakingdom

Rice Krispy Treat Ombre Snitch Cake

Photo property of Bakingdom

 Honeyduke's Candy Floss Cupcakes

Photo property of Bakingdom

My FAVORITE! ZOMG!!

 Fanciful Phoenix Cake

Photo property of Bakingdom

And that, my friends, is just a SMALL sampling.

To say she is soopa doopa talented is a vast understatement.

Hang on a second. I think I'm fangirling here!

Ok. I'm fine now.

One of the very first things I found of Darla's (via Pinterest) was this Cinnamon Roll Cupcake recipe.

It. Is. Amazing.

UH-MAZE-ING.

If you like Cinnamon Rolls, check.it.out!

Deliciousness. 

I'm just pointing you in her general direction. Nothing here to see except the one photo that I will post again.

Now, here's Darla's recipe. Go.Make.Be Happy. 

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes by Darla of Bakingdom

By the by, Darla, if you are reading this, are you also a Firefly fan? If so, we should talk, sister!

Tina

{ Pie Pops }

Pin It

Tomorrow?

Major holiday.

Do you all have your plans in order?

SUCH AN EXCITING DAY!!!!!!!!!

OH EM GEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it's finally that time of year. 3.14 day!

It's Pi day!

WOO! I'll let the excitement wash over you for a second.

I'll wait here.

*cue Jeopardy music*

.

.

.

Did you know if you flipped 314 it kinda looks like PIE? (CAN'T TYPE BACKWARDS!)

Write it down. I just blew your mind, didn't I? Yeah. That happened.

Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's the skinny.

Can a day associated with pie be correctly termed skinny?

Probabbbbbbbbbbbbbly not.

However, the Bean came home telling me that if he took pie into math class tomorrow he'd get extra credit.

*read: MOM.PIE.MAKE.SCHOOL.

Even thought the boy carries an A in the class at the current moment, I've said "When extra is offered no matter when, no matter where, TAKE IT".

Look where that got me.

*Dramatic Sigh*

He did help. For like 5 minutes. And then I got annoyed. And sent him to play in traffic.

Or to play with video games.

Something like that.

Bakerella made the most adorable wee baby pies on a steeeek.

I'm sorry, I can't say on a stick without thinking of Jose Jalapeno and Jeff Dunham.

Actually, I can't SAY on a stick. It comes out on a steeeek. Every. Time.

I can't help it.

Wait. Pie? Yes. Pie.

These little pies by Bakerella are so stinkin adorable, I had to try them.

I didn't take step by step photos because Bakerella already has gorgeous pics on her site.

I made Apple Pies on a Steeek.

I'm sorry. Really, I am.

I finished mine up with a sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar.

They are cute,  tasty lil morsels.

Is good.

Happy Pi Day to all, party hardy, my friends for this day comes but once a year.

And it's not like you can eat pie ANY OTHER DAY of the year!

Wait.. you can?

*faints*

Oh, the calendar? Yes, it's totally Angry Birds.

Tina

I’m partying at the Pi Day Pie Party at Crazy for Crust today. Come party with us!


Shared at:
Oopsey Daisy

{Oh My…Holy Rolls!}

So, since forever ago, I’ve been wanting to make The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls.

Problem is, I have a family of three, and this makes seven pans. Yes, I said seven PANS. Even at my hungriest, I can’t eat that much.

No, really, I can’t.

I planned to make them at Christmas and give them as gifts. However, I used a packet of yeast and forgot to buy another until… well, last week. Actually I bought a jar, but – semantics, folks.

I wondered who I could dole all these out to. Then it hit me.

Church people.

I don’t know if you realize this, but church people are always hungry.

It’s a fact of life.

I set (sat?) about my task last night at 8pm.

By 9 pm I was crying.

Real tears.

Ok, so I wasn’t, but I like to be dramatic. I can’t help it. It’s who I is.

1. I ran out of flour.

2. these things are sticky and messy, and they looked really ugly.

3. I thought no one would ever eat them.

4. I was COVERED in flour. I mean it. I looked like the dough boy- and not just cuz I’m chubby.

5. I ran out of powdered sugar.

SERIOULSY? yes, seriously.

First crisis averted when I ran to the store to get more flour.

But when it came time to go back out for the sugar, I was not excited. 

And, um.. covered in flour, remember?

My parents live 2 houses down. They weren’t home. They gave me a key. That was their first mistake. 

So, I rumbled through their cabinets and found said sugar.

And I left this note:

I have taken your powdered sugar.

If you wish to see it alive again call 000-000-0000 when you arrive home.

They never called.

R.I.P Powdered Sugar.

Meanwhile back at the ranch….

I mean that literally, Pioneer Woman lives on a ranch. I was tweeting my frustrations when, lo and behold, PW replied to me.

Our tweeted conversation:

ME: I'm making @thepioneerwoman 's cinnamon rolls for the 1st time. Pray they come out. because if they do, they're going to church tomorrow :)

 

Me: this is not going well @thepioneerwoman 

 

PW: @DSPTina Tell me what's up! I'll walk you through it. 

 

ME: @thepioneerwoman thanks, hon, but they are rising now. i'm covered in flour and a little dogtrodden, lol. They are just small and stickeeey 

 

PW: @DSPTina Very normal! They're a total mess...but worth it. (Next time, refrigerate the dough; easier to work with!) 

 

ME: @thepioneerwoman Oh, thanks, great tip! :) 

 

ME: @thepioneerwoman did I say dogtrodden. haha.. I meant downtrodden. Or maybe I didn't. :) 
 

PW: @DSPTina I thought I had learned a new word tonight! 

 

ME: @thepioneerwoman sure, let's go with that! 

 

(this is where she becomes bored with me and goes off to brush her long red hair, or herd cattle, I know not. Ree? Ree??? Are you home? *knocks on computer screen*). 

 

ME: @thepioneerwoman BTW, the rolls went in looking a HOT stinkin mess, and came out brown and beautiful. I didn't know you had magic recipes! 

 

ME: just so you all know @thepioneerwoman 's cinnamon rolls are WORTH THE EFFORT. I may never love again after these! 

 

Anyway, I took only one preparation photo and it's from my phone, because I’m linking you to her site, and she has photos that are more tasty than her food. Or, almost.

I never planned to share it here, but what the hey- I have no pride.

This is the roll before I started slicing. FYI, my bar is 4 foot long. And this is the SECOND roll. Did I mention this recipe makes a TON?

And yes, my kitchen was a HOT MESS after.

They went in the pan looking sad and pathetic, that’s not how them came out of the oven though.

and.. the “lots” that it makes- I counted 74 rolls.

So, enough with the yapping and get on with the recipe givin’, you say?

OK, but promise me that you’ll not go off, get lost in her huge, massive, wonderful, stupendous recipe collection and never come back to my teeny corner of the interwebs, ok?

OK????????

Just remember, you promised!

The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls**

With a whisk and a dream and a whole lotta cinnamon rolls*, Tina

*not really, those church people… they took care of ‘em!

**Oh, note #2, She says in that link to use 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of butter each time you roll out. I only used 1/2 cup on each for 1 cup total. I apparently fail at reading directions, but I cannot imagine what it would have been like with that much butter. I don’t think I could have sliced mine!