Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

These Snickerdoodle cupcakes are sweet and spiced just like a chewy Snickerdoodle cookie! They’re light and buttery cinnamon cupcakes topped with tall swirls of cinnamon buttercream frosting and sparkling cinnamon sugar.

If you love this cupcake recipe as much as I do, you need to try my Snickerdoodle bars and these soft and fluffy Snickerdoodle muffins! 

Why You’ll Love This Snickerdoodle Cupcakes Recipe

My husband is a Snickerdoodle fanatic, and it’s hard to rival a perfect, chewy Snickerdoodle cookie when it’s the real deal. But these Snickerdoodle cupcakes blew us away! They’re swirled with cinnamon buttercream and ultra-moist. No one can resist this cupcake recipe in my house. I just know you’ll go crazy for them, too. Here’s why:

• Sweet and spiced. Snickerdoodle flavor is a delicious combination of sugar cookie-meets-warm cinnamon. Baked into a soft, fluffy cupcake, it’s totally mouthwatering. There’s just enough sweetness and spice without one overpowering the other.
• Quick to make. The batter comes together quickly, and these cupcakes don’t take a whole lot of time in the oven, either. It’s a good thing because your kitchen will smell so incredible, you’ll want these in your mouth ASAP.
• Beginner-friendly. Even if you’re new to baking cupcakes from scratch, this Snickerdoodle cupcake recipe is a great place to start. I’ll walk you through the (easy) steps to make perfect cupcakes topped with a buttery frosting swirl.

What You’ll Need

These Snickerdoodle cupcakes are filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice about the classic cookie recipe. Here are my notes on what you’ll need. Scroll to the recipe card below the post for a printable ingredients list.

• Dry Ingredients – You’ll need flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
• Cinnamon – You can’t make a Snickerdoodle-themed dessert without it!
• Butter – Salted or unsalted butter, melted and cooled a little before you start.
• Eggs and Vanilla – Bring your eggs to room temperature beforehand for best results. For the most authentic flavor, go for real vanilla extract over imitation.
• Milk – Either whole milk or 2% milk.
• Cinnamon Sugar – Made by combining granulated sugar with ground cinnamon. I like to make a big batch of cinnamon sugar and keep it in jars in the pantry. You can use it in more desserts, from cinnamon roll cake to churro bars.
• Frosting – I use my homemade cinnamon buttercream frosting (you might recognize it from this cinnamon roll layer cake). For this version, all you need is room-temperature butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, milk, and vanilla.

Where’s the Cream of Tartar?

OK, OK. I know some Snickerdoodle purists might come at me for this one: Yes, these Snickerdoodle cupcakes don’t have any cream of tartar! While cream of tartar is a must-have ingredient for Snickerdoodle cookies (it’s what gives them their signature tang, after all), I found that it didn’t actually bring much to this cupcake recipe. So, I skipped it. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of cinnamon spice to fill the void!

How to Make Snickerdoodle Cupcakes With Cinnamon Frosting

Let’s make moist, fluffy Snickerdoodle cupcakes! You’ll find a rundown of the steps below, and printable instructions in the recipe card further down.

• Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. In your mixer’s bowl, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined.

• Combine. Next, you’ll gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet batter, alternating with milk. Be careful not to overmix.

• Fill the pan. Pour the cupcake batter into the lined wells of a muffin pan, filling each about ⅔ full. Give the batter a sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake. Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes at 350ºF. Afterward, move the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool before you make your frosting.

• Make the frosting. Start by creaming the butter until it’s fluffy, then add powdered sugar and cinnamon. Next, beat in the milk and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
• Decorate. Spread or pipe the buttercream frosting over your cooled cupcakes (see below). I like to garnish each cupcake with leftover cinnamon sugar for some sparkle.

How to Make a Buttercream Swirl

New to frosting cupcakes? These Snickerdoodle cupcakes are bound to turn out delicious no matter what, but one thing’s certain: everything is better with a buttercream swirl! And it’s WAY easier than you think. 

If you don’t have a piping bag, don’t let that stop you. Simply fill a large ziptop bag with frosting and snip off the corner. Then, follow this quick tutorial to pipe buttercream swirls similar to the ones pictured: 

1. Start with the piping tip about 1” from the center of the cupcake. Gently squeeze to pipe the center of the swirl. 
2. Holding the pressure, raise the tip slightly while piping the frosting into a “C” shape around the center. Once you’ve come full circle, move the piping tip upward and inward a smidge, continuing to pipe in a circular motion until you reach the height you’d like. 
3. Finish in the center of the cupcake, and stop squeezing as you lift away the piping tip. Tada! You’ll be a pro in no time.

Can I Use Another Kind of Frosting?

I love the pairing of cinnamon buttercream with these spiced Snickerdoodle cupcakes, but you can use any frosting you’d like. This creamy brown sugar frosting would also taste amazing on these cupcakes, and you can’t go wrong with classic vanilla buttercream. If you’re not piping your frosting, try this easy heritage frosting that’s perfect for spreading.

Tips for Success

The secret to moist Snickerdoodle cupcakes comes down to some pretty simple tips:

• Measure the ingredients correctly. If your cupcakes turn out dry, there’s a good chance it’s because there’s too much flour in there. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, make sure to measure dry ingredients, like flour, using the spoon and sweep method: spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off (rather than scooping it directly from the bag).
• Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing the batter can result in dense, tough cupcakes that don’t puff up in the oven. Since we’re after soft, tender Snickerdoodle cupcakes, be careful to only mix the dry ingredients into the batter until they’re just combined.
• Check the cupcakes for doneness. Use a toothpick to check that the cupcakes are done. Stick the toothpick into the center of a cupcake, and if it comes out with a few moist crumbs, your cupcakes are ready to come out of the oven.
• Let the cupcakes cool completely. Your Snickerdoodle cupcakes will need to cool completely to room temperature before you add your frosting swirls. If the cupcakes are still warm, the frosting will slide right off.

How to Store

• To Store. Store these frosted Snickerdoodle cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• Freeze. Freeze these cupcakes unfrosted for up to 2 months. Be sure to store them in an airtight freezer bag or wrap them tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Defrost the cupcakes in the fridge before adding the frosting.

More Cupcake Recipes

• Chocolate Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Confetti Cupcakes
• Bananas Foster Cupcakes

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