Eggnog Cupcakes
Happy Holidays!
For me, December is always a crazy month but I try to take time to slow down and appreciate everything that's happened in the last year.
I moved into a new apartment, adopted two cats, was promoted at work, miraculously maintained this blog, traveled more this year than any other year, watched some of my best friends get engaged and married, haven't had any major medical issues, and spent a lot of time taking care of myself.
December is also a very hard month for me. As much as I love the holidays, ugly sweaters, and Christmas, I won't get to celebrate it with my favorite person. This month marks three years since my grandma passed and while some days it feels like a lifetime ago, other days the grief sneaks up on me and hits me right in the face. She loved Christmas more than anyone I know, so I try to celebrate a little more just for her.
My parents are coming down for Christmas this year - it was 6 degrees where they live yesterday with wind chill so I'm very glad I don't have to go back to that. I'm trying to think of some good dinner options as well as some restaurants to take them to. Last year we did cornish game hens for Christmas Eve Dinner and Lobster Mac and Cheese for Christmas Dinner. I'm trying to find a recipe to incorporate the wild boar I shot, but that's not going very well. Hopefully, I'll figure out a good option it soon and share it with y'all.
Ok, onto the cupcakes. These cupcakes are rich, in case the title didn't give it away. The frosting has a more prominent eggnog flavor, but you can taste it in both the cake and the frosting. If you're not sprinkle-crazy like some of us (ahem, me) these would be great with a dusting of freshly ground nutmeg on top. If you don't have a stand mixer for whip the butter, you'll be able to do it by hand, but the butter clumps will be a bit bigger when you mix all the ingredients together. That should be fine and they'll melt when you bake them, but if you don't like it, you can do what I've done in the past and sent it through a strainer. It's messy and time-consuming, but a good option if you're a clump-phobe.
Eggnog Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups AP Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1.5 sticks), room temperature
3 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup eggnog
1/4 cup milk
Frosting
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 tbsp eggnog
Sprinkles, if desired
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter until smooth and stir in the egg whites, vanilla, eggnog and milk until it's incorporated. Next combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, making sure not to overmix the batter. The batter will be thick, so scoop enough into each liner to fill it right above halfway. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
Whip butter until it's lightened in color and smooth. Add powdered sugar and eggnog in batches until the frosting is the taste and consistency you'd like. Scoop into piping bags and decorate the cupcakes. Top with sprinkles.