MSC: Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread cupcakes?? Heck yes!

One of my really really good friends was having a birthday on Thursday and I knew these would be such a treat to give her. After she tried one of my banana pecan cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting (still one of my top two favorite's of Martha's!), she has always called me a cupcake queen or something along those lines=) I always let her know when I'm baking a new batch, so i figured what a great surprise these would be. When I brought them to school, others seemed to like them as well, even a teacher or two.

The recipe actually yielded how much it said it would! That's a first. I actually got 23 instead of 22, but the last one was really tiny. Also, they baked for exactly as long as the recipe said! Maybe my oven's getting better?? The last cupcakes were done when it said too. YAY! And, I had all the ingredients on hand, which is always a plus!

Did anyone else realize how much butter goes into this recipe? It's a bit shocking! Good thing I happen to love love love butter. We're talking 6 sticks people. That's cupcake and frosting combined.

Lastly, and I can't hide this from you guys, there was a bit of a mis-communication/I was an idiot and don't know my measurements. I was trying to get ahead of the game and make my icing while my cupckaes baked, but my mom bought a different sized powdered sugar bag and it threw me off completely. Long story short, I put 2 lbs. of powdered sugar in my icing when only 1 lb. was needed. AHHH! It took so long to make too, because I was trying to be really concise in my mixing efforts. So I ended up having to make another batch. This time I forgot the vanilla and realized it after I iced three cupcakes. So I said screw it and kept going. There was a big difference. This is all the night before mind you.

Okay, so taste: The cupcake was buttery, melt-in-your-mouth goodness! It had a great gingerbread flavor and a perfect density. I'll say it again, melt-in-your-mouth goodness! The icing was quite sugary yet buttery, too, but I thought it was appropriate since when I think of gingerbread I except white & sugary frosting. Also, I added red, green, & white sprinkles for a holiday touch.