The classic cinnamon-sugar cookie gets the cupcake treatment! Cinnamon-sugar-swirled vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy cinnamon-swirled frosting… these snickerdoodle cupcakes always get rave reviews. Try them and you’ll taste why!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 (they’ve stood the test of time!) and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
Soft, slightly tangy, and coated in cinnamon-sugar, snickerdoodle cookies will always be a family favorite. So how about a cupcake version? It’s doable. And, obviously, delicious!
I wasn’t shy about loading cinny-swirls inside these snickerdoodle cupcakes. Cinnamon peeking through the edges, cinnamon-sugar dusted on top, a mountain of cinnamon-swirl frosting, and a mini snickerdoodle cookie to top it all off.
Today’s recipe is a fine example of how a delicious dessert doesn’t have to be difficult! You can impress everyone with a simple recipe and a little creativity. Seriously… how can you resist THESE?
Readers Rave Have Been Raving for Years
One reader, Julia, commented: “These are the best things I have ever made in my kitchen, no lie. ★★★★★”
One reader, Ashley, commented: “These cupcakes are amazing! My husband asked for them for his birthday for the second year in a row. These are definitely going to be part of our yearly celebrations. One of the best cupcake recipes. ★★★★★”
One reader, Sharon, commented: “This was my first ever cupcake I’ve made from scratch. I made two batches and took them to work. Rave reviews! They said they were literally the best cupcake they had ever eaten. Will definitely make again and again. ★★★★★”
Here’s My Cake Version
And, yes, I have a snickerdoodle cake recipe, too!
How to Make & Assemble Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
There are 3 parts to these snickerdoodle cupcakes:
- Cinnamon-swirled vanilla cupcakes
- Cinnamon-swirled vanilla buttercream
- Mini snickerdoodles for garnish (optional but so much fun if you have time!)
First, the cupcake batter. It comes together in minutes—you don’t even need an electric mixer. Whisk together dry ingredients, whisk together wet ingredients, whisk wet + dry together. The batter is similar to my strawberry shortcake cupcakes.
The assembly: Spoon 2 Tablespoons of cupcake batter into 12 cupcake liners. Then sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar. Top with more cupcake batter and 1 more teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar. Some of the cinnamon-sugar layer from the center may peek out on the top. Give the tops a gentle swirl with a toothpick.
Here’s how that whole assembly step looks:
By the way, you’ll similarly layer cinnamon goodness in these banana chocolate chip streusel muffins. Another must-try for my fellow cinnamon-sugar lovers!
Here’s what the cupcakes look like after baking:
Next, the frosting. These snickerdoodle cupcakes are so utterly tasty, that you don’t even need frosting. But let’s be serious. If you have the opportunity to make cinnamon frosting, you should make it. That’s just sensible!
The frosting I used to top these cupcakes is two-toned. First, I made vanilla buttercream. Then I transferred half of the frosting to a separate bowl and beat 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon into it.
Here is exactly how I swirled the two frostings together: I simply filled my piping bag with half of the cinnamon frosting on one side and half of the vanilla frosting next to it. Side by side, cinnamon + vanilla in one swirly-twirly frosting.
I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost, but any piping tip would work. If you do not have a piping bag + tip, no worries! You can frost the two frostings however you’d like on top of the snickerdoodle cupcakes. Or just use all vanilla frosting or all cinnamon frosting.
And if you love cream cheese frosting, try topping these snickerdoodle cupcakes with the frosting from this recipe for banana cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
Garnish & Topping Options
And last but not least, a little finishing touch for your snickerdoodle cupcakes—and I do mean little! Whip up a batch of my soft and thick snickerdoodles (a quick and easy 20-minute recipe) and make them into mini cookies, which is about 2 teaspoons of cookie dough per cookie. Bake them for 7 minutes. This is optional, but topping a cupcake with a mini cookie is one of the easiest ways to make a simple dessert look extraordinary.
You could also garnish these snickerdoodle cupcakes with a cinnamon stick, like we do with these chai latte cupcakes. And if you want to try filling cupcakes, these would be fantastic with some salted caramel in the middle.
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Swirl Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cinnamon-sugar-swirled vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy cinnamon-swirled frosting… these snickerdoodle cupcakes always get rave reviews. Try them and you’ll taste why! Feel free to garnish with a mini snickerdoodle cookie or a cinnamon stick.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 and 1/3 cups (266g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature*
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cinnamon-Swirl Frosting
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3–4 cups (360–480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- optional for garnish: 12 cinnamon sticks or 12 mini snickerdoodles*
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcakes: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and 1 cup (200g) sugar together. Mixture will be gritty. Whisk in the egg, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is completely combined. Batter should be creamy and mostly smooth; a few small lumps are OK.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Assemble the cupcakes: Spoon 2 scant Tablespoons of cupcake batter into each cupcake liner. Top with 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Top with 1 heaping Tablespoon of cupcake batter, until the cupcake liners are about 3/4 full. Some of the cinnamon-sugar filling from the center layer may peek through the top layer of batter—that’s ok. Top each cupcake with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar. Swirl each gently with a toothpick.
- Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Shake off any excess cinnamon-sugar that isn’t sticking to the tops, as that will prevent the frosting from sticking to the cupcakes.
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting seems thin and greasy or more cream if the frosting seems too stiff. Taste, and add salt if frosting is too sweet (I like to add about 1/8 teaspoon). Remove half of the frosting from the mixing bowl and transfer to another bowl, or directly into your piping bag. Beat 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon into the remaining frosting in the mixing bowl.
- Spoon half cinnamon frosting into the piping bag and half vanilla frosting into the piping bag. See above for a visual. Pipe onto cupcakes. I used a Wilton 1M swirl tip. Garnish cupcakes with cinnamon sticks or mini snickerdoodle cookies, if desired.
- Cover and store leftover cupcakes at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Bake the cupcakes 1 day in advance. Keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and frost the day of serving. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-cup Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Cupcake Carrier (for storage)
- Sour Cream & Whole Milk: Sour cream and whole milk are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full-fat plain yogurt would work instead of sour cream, though the cupcakes may not be as light. Same goes with a lower-fat milk (I don’t recommend nonfat). Nondairy milk works in a pinch. You can replace both the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk (1 cup/240ml) if needed.
- Cream: For the cream in the frosting, you can use whole milk instead. However, the consistency of the frosting will not be as creamy.
- Can I Make This Into a Cake? Absolutely, and I already have a separate recipe for snickerdoodle cake. For a smaller cake, use today’s cupcake and frosting recipes, but bake as a 3-layer 6-inch cake. See this post for how to turn cupcake recipes into 3-layer 6-inch cakes.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin!
This happened to me as well, did you ever figure out the solution? My cupcakes just had cinnamon sugar hardened on the top rather than it being a part of the cupcake. It almost looked like they were wearing a little round cinnamon sugar hat! Really want these to work out! I don’t know what I did wrong.
Hi Autumn, you can absolutely reduce the amount of cinnamon sugar topping if you prefer less on top.
These cupcakes were so good! I made them with a cream cheese frosting on top and it was a perfect pairing. Delicious
Sally, I have made this recipe several times and each time the top wants to fall off the cupcake. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Angela, For next time, try very gently pressing the cinnamon sugar into the tops of the muffins. How was the texture of the cupcake? If the tops were too crusty, it’s possible they were just slightly over baked. Thanks so much for giving these a try!
These are amazing!
My snickerdoodle loving family absolutely loved these!
I made these today to trial for a baby shower. The texture was perfect and tasted delicious! I found 1 tsp of cinnamon sugar on top was too much, the cakes didn’t get enough rise and it crusted over the tops with a lot of cinnamon sugar falling off the cupcakes after baking.
I also pulled the liners off a few and they all stuck to the paper. Not sure what I did wrong there, do you recommend using foil vs paper liners for these?
Im looking forward to trying again, they’re so good and easy to make!
can you use buttermilk instead of sour cream?
Hi Suzi, The best way to use buttermilk is to replace both the whole milk AND the sour cream (so you would use 1 cup of buttermilk). Enjoy!
The taste of these was amazing! The layering of the cinnamon was fun and the sweetness was perfect too! My whole family loved them, great job!
What would the bake time be for mini cupcakes?
Hi Shannon! You can bake them for 11-13 minutes at the same temperature. Enjoy!
Made these today for my brother and sister-in-law’s baby shower and they are delicious! Will definitely be making these again soon! Perfect!
i absolutely love this recipe! i have one question though. so after i made these my friend REALLY loved them and was wanting me to make a cake of this flavor for his birthday, so would this recipe work for a layer cake? if not are there any adjustments i can make to the recipe to make it work for a cake? thank you 🙂
Hi Addy! This cupcake recipe would work perfectly as a 3 layer 6 inch cake. Otherwise you may love our full sized Snickerdoodle Cake instead. Hope it’s a hit!
My husband LOVED these cupcakes so much he has requested for me to make him a birthday cake from this recipe.
Approximately what would the baking time be if the recipe is doubled and baked in two 8-inch rounds?
Hi Jennifer! We’re thrilled these cupcakes were such a hit. We’re unsure of the baking time for 8 inch pans, so keep an eye on them in the oven and use a toothpick to test for doneness (I would start checking around 20 minutes). With that said, you may also love our recipe for a full sized snickerdoodle cake. Let us know what you try!
Hello. If I wanted to make a 6 in cake out of this recipe how would i change the length of time in the oven ? Thanks. Btw..my family loves these cupcakes
Hi Loni, for a 6 inch cake, follow the baking time and temperature from our 6 inch cakes post while using the batter from this recipe. Enjoy!
I thought i replied but thank you so much for your quick response!
Hi Heather! Yes, you can use the same amount of cake flour. Let us know how they go!
I made these for my principal’s birthday and he said they were the best cupcakes he had ever had. A couple of my coworkers raved about them as well! I think I will put less cinnamon sugar on top of the cupcakes though. I think I had on too much and they rose into odd shapes. They still tasted amazing though!
Is it ok to make a double batch of the frosting by doubling the ingredients? I wasn’t sure if the consistency would still turn out the same.
Hi Caitlin! You can double this frosting recipe without any issues. Hope you enjoy it!
This is my GO TO and never disappoints, I’m so thankful I found your recipe, thank you!!!
If I need to make 36 cupcakes is it better to just convert the whole recipe Or make the batter three different times ?
Hi Isabella! For 36 cupcakes, we would use the batter from our Snickerdoodle Cake instead – it yields about 3 dozen cupcakes. See recipe notes for baking directions. Enjoy!
Would I be able to use buttermilk instead of milk for this? Would I need to change any of the measurements? Thank you!
Hi Cassandra, The best way to use buttermilk is to replace both the whole milk AND the sour cream (so you would use 1 cup of buttermilk). Enjoy!
Hi Sally! I have an order for 2 dozen of these, because everyone LOVES them so much! Do you think that I can double the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Vivian, For best results, we recommend making two separate batches.
I made these cupcakes for my family and they were a huge hit! So light and fluffy and super delicious. I was wondering if I could take this recipe and make it into a 3 layer 6″cake? Would anything need to be adjusted?
Thank you!
Hi Jordan, I’m so happy these were a hit! Yes, you can absolutely turn this recipe into a 3 layer 6-inch cake. Follow the instructions in this 6 inch cake recipes post. Enjoy!
These are great! I’ve made these several times, also made a cake with cinnamon swirls with this same batter. I’ve actually been using it without the cinnamon sugar for a vanilla base too and it works pretty well. Only issue I’m having is the yogurt or sour cream leaves these little chunks (I even whisk it well before adding it to the batter). Then after baking there are these little white chunks that are left whole. Any ideas? I’m leaving the ingredients to come to room temp 2-3 hours. Thanks!
Omg these are sooo good-not too sweet but perfectly snickerdoodle-ee the cake is fluffy and those cinnamon sugar spots in the cupcake are sooo yummy. I actually did one salted and one unsalted organic Vermont creamery butter for the frosting and it was just the right amount of sweet with 3cups powdered sugar-thanks I shared them with my sister and her family and I WILL be making them again-thanks
Do you think these would work with just the cinnamon icing, or does the vanilla icing balance it out?
Hi Crystal, If you love cinnamon then you can use all cinnamon icing 🙂
This recipe is super solid! Thanks so much for sharing it. I didn’t get around to baking the cookies, but the cake itself is super yummy and i love the gooey cinnamon sugar as layers. I’ve loved your recipes for years, so glad to still be baking through them 🙂
There are the best things I have ever made in my kitchen, no lie.
Made these for my daughter’s boyfriend. He requested Snickerdoodle Cookies for his Birthday. But, I just couldn’t make cookies for a Birthday. So, I tried your cupcakes for his 26th Birthday…. EASY & DELICIOUS. I was so hesitant, never made a cupcake like this. I also used Sour Cream & I substituted the milk for Half & Half. They are so moist and the cinnamon sugar in the middle & top is such a surprise. Thank you.
Hi Sally,
These are cooled and waiting to be decorated. How long in advance can you put the mini snickerdoodles on to the frosting without them going soft(er)? Many thanks!
Yay! I usually put the cookie on just before serving. I hope you love them!
Wow! Amazingly delicious!! I brought these to my dentist’s office and they were gone in no time with rave reviews! Thanks for the recipe. Next up I’m trying the funfetti cupcakes!
These cupcakes had one of the moistest (is that a word?) cakes ever! It could do with a but less sugar, though, so as to cut down on excessive sweetness. Once a Sally fan, always a Sally fan! Thanks for the great recipes, every time.
Hi sally my cinnamon swirl cupcakes came out gorgeous!they came out just exactly like your picture!cant wait to serve them!ill stick with this recipe