Allergy friendly. cupcake happy!

For those of us that need to bake without milk or eggs, vegan baking is the way to go. I came up with these cupcakes with the help of a few my favorite vegan bakers. I make a cinnamon vanilla cupcake, top with vanilla buttercream, a snickerdoodle cookie on top, and a dollop more of vanilla buttercream to make it even fancier.

Yes, I know, there are several steps for this cupcake. As a busy mom, I usually can’t get these done all at once, so I would probably bake and freeze the cupcakes one day, another day bake cookies, make frosting and assemble. Trust me, your friends and family will love that you put in the extra effort to make them something special. These are my husband Kevin’s favorite!

VEGAN DELUXE SNICKERDOODLE CUPCAKES
Adapted from chefchloe.com and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Snickerdoodle Cookies
1 c. nonhydrogenated margarine (recommended: Earth Balance Soy-Free Non-Hydrogenated Buttery Spread)
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 T. non-dairy milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 2/3 c. All purpose flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 stp. salt

Cinnamon sugar for rolling:
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Big pinch of nutmeg, optional
2 T white decorator sugar, optional

Procedure
Cream margarine and sugar together until light and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary. Add non dairy milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Sift in flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar soda and salt and beat mixure until soft dough forms, about 4 minutes. Dough will be soft and fluffy. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients of cinnamon sugar mixture in a bowl.

Scoop 1 T. dough (I use a 1 T. cookie scooper), drop into cinnamon sugar mixture, and gently roll into a ball. Place on cookie sheets 3 inches apart.

Bake 8 minutes. Cookies will puff when you bake and will flatten while they are cooling. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely. Reserve 24 cookies for your cupcakes. Store remainder in loosely covered container.  Makes 72 small cookies (the perfect size to put on top of your cupcakes). If you don’t want a lot of extra cookies, you can cut the recipe in half).

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 cups non-dairy milk (I prefer coconut milk)
1 cup canola oil
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350. Line two cupcake pans with liners sprayed with allergen-free cooking spray (see my earlier post on My favorite allergen-free baking products).

Whisk together cinnamon, sugar, baking soda, salt and flour into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Combine the wet and dry mixtures and whisk until thoroughly mixed.

Distribute batter into lined cupcake baking pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before transferring to rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Frosting
8 cups confectioners’ sugar, preferably organic
1 cup allergen-free margarine (recommended: Earth Balance Soy-Free Non-Hydrogenated Buttery Spread)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Procedure
Combine the confectioners’ sugar, margarine, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Beat on medium-high speed until combined. With the mixer running, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, until the desired buttercream consistency.

Assembly
Spread or pipe frosting on a cooled cupcake. Top with a snickerdoodle cookie, and garnish with additional frosting. Makes 24 snickerdoodle cupcakes.

Sheila’s allergen-free baking tip: Because I occasionally bake gluten-free for friends and family, I have made it a habit when measuring the dry ingredients to measure my all-purpose flour last. This way, if I use the same measuring cup for the sugar, I avoid cross-contamination in the large container of sugar.