Summer. The word means many things to many people.

As a teacher, I think of sleeping in (rarely past 8, though), reading, and “unlimited” planning time for the school year to come. Side note: Guess who banged out 4 unit plans in 1.5 weeks?!?! #thiskid
As a human, summer means getting a tan (or a burn, as is usually the case for me), eating a soft ice cream cone (twist!!!), and swimming in any body of water I can find. (I’m lookin’ at you, Long Lake, NY.)
As a baker, summer means PIE, s’mores, and the fancy notion that, “Maybe I’ll do a bunch of blog posts and have them ready to go for when the chaos of school starts up again (all too soon).”
I hate to disappoint, but… I don’t have a billion recipes queued up for the seasons to come. I DO, however, have a slew of lovely photos of what I’ve been baking lately, as well as a new-to-me-recipe that came out so much better than I expected.
Pre-gaming summer with some homemade cookies a coworker and I made for our fellow teachers on the last day of school.

A frozen peanut butter pie for a friend who just had baby boy #3. She said, “Jenny, I ate a piece of that pie and a piece of fruit for lunch every day that week.” #winningatlife

Totally Instagrammable Strawberry Cobbler w/ Cream Cheese Biscuits [thanks for the winner, HalfBakedHarvest]

I finally made banana bread and remembered to save half of a banana for the top. It split, I know, it was sad. But still! Better luck next time, I guess.

Chocolate cake w/ peanut butter dulce de leche frosting [I sold this one!]

For my family, summer=pie. This was the first of 3 pies I made in a week (I know, right?!?)! It’s a fresh strawberry pie.

Cue pie #2: Strawberry Rhubarb w/ SUCCESSFUL lattice crust (personal victory!) [funny story: I was supposed to freeze this one so we could take it on vacation, but I didn’t learn of this until after the pie was baked, so we had TWO pies in our house for a family of FOUR people. It’s a good thing we like pie.

Pie #3: Here’s the one that we took on vaca with us. It’s also strawberry rhubarb.

Whatcha gonna do with that extra pie dough? Why, make PIE FRIES of course! Best dipped in strawberry jam. #myheart

Cue cinnamon graham crackers, your basic vanilla-y cupcake recipe, and cream cheese frosting. Plus cinnamon. CINNAMON!

Moving on to the subject of the day: the cinnamon graham cracker cupcakes. And a failed piping attempt. Make that like 5 failed attempts. 0 successes. Ha ha ha!

Frosting goals.
Like I said, the piping leaves something to be desired, but you know, when you’re making it work with a few ziploc bags and kitchen shears, you make it work. I hope you make these cupcakes and come away intrigued and delighted by the flavor cinnamon graham crackers lend to the cupcake base and having taken too many finger dips into the frosting. Did I mention it calls for brown butter? BROWN BUTTER, FOLKS!!!
Get baking!

Cute little cupcakes all in a row

Cinnamon Graham Cracker Cupcakes + Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Created by Jenny Barrett on June 13, 2016



• Prep Time:12m
• Cook Time:17m
• Total Time:25m

• Serves: 14
• Yield: 14 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cinnamon Graham Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup milk, at room temperature

Brown Butter Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 4 ounces butter, browned
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Cinnamon Graham Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with ~14 cupcake liners.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl on medium speed for 1.5-2 minutes or until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
3. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition. Then add in the vanilla.
4. Alternate between adding remaining dry ingredients and milk, beginning with the baking powder and graham cracker crumbs. Mix until combined.
5. Pour approximately 1/4 batter into each cupcake tin. Bake the cupcakes for about 17 minutes, turning at the halfway mark. The cupcakes are finished when a fork or toothpick inserted into one comes out clean.

Brown Butter Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Brown the butter in a small saucepan. Once browned, allow the butter to solidify in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. You want soft, browned butter than can be whipped into frosting. (I overcooled mine, so I had to soften it in the microwave.)
2. Whip the browned butter in a stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Add cream cheese and beat for 1-2 minutes until smooth and no clumps remain.
4. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating between each addition. Add in cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
5. Once ingredients are combined, whip frosting on high for 1-2.5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Source: Food52

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