Hi there! Remember me? I'm the poor, lonely, neglected food blog. I've been pushed to the side in favor of needy little ones, PTA meetings, house showings and cupcake orders. However, I have never been forgotten! I'm back today to share with you a fun cupcake recipe (really though, aren't all cupcakes fun?) that I made for my dad's 63rd birthday a few weeks ago. When deciding what flavor cupcakes to make for my dad the first thing I came up with was coconut. Sure, coconut is an easy choice - Dad loves it. But isn't that a bit too predictable? So I asked myself, what else does Dad love? Well, BEER, obviously! And what goes with beer? PRETZELS, of course! So I took my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe and jazzed it up with some Blue Moon Beer and pretzel bits and here's what you get!! The Blue Moon is subtle but noticeable in the vanilla cupcake and the crushed pretzel pieces add a nice bit of saltiness to the cake. The pretzels in the cupcake will get soggy once baked, so I added crushed pretzels to the top of the frosting right before serving. Waiting til the last minute gives you that nice crunch you are looking for. Blue Moon Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes For the cupcakes 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 3/4 cups sugar 2 eggs, at room temperature 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups Blue Moon Beer, at room temperature 1 cup crushed pretzels Preheat oven to 350. Line a standard cupcake pan with 24 liners. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar together for about 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition. Add the vanilla extract to the Blue Moon in a large measuring cup. With the mixer on low add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the Blue Moon/vanilla mixture. Add another 1/2 of the flour, followed by the rest of the liquid. Finally, add the last of the flour, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in the crushed pretzels until well incorporated. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to continue to cool completely. For the frosting 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, I prefer European butter like Plugra 4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon whole milk 1/2 cup Blue Moon In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the salt to the confectioner's sugar, whisk together. On low speed, slowly add 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar to the mixing bowl. Slowly add the vanilla, milk and Blue Moon. Once incorporated, add the remaining confectioner's sugar, stopping the scrape down the bowl if necessary. When all the ingredients are fully combined turn the mixer on medium-high speed and beat for 5-7 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag and swirl onto cupcakes. Source: Adapted from The Cupcake Diaries
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