Cupcakes!

Who doesn't love a yummy creamy cupcake?  My daughter just adores cupcakes and I'm all for eating them as a "junk food" snack - so long as they are homemade and filled with some yogurt to balance out the sugar and butter!

Here is our family's go-to favorite cupcake recipe.  You can eat them frosted or not (I will just leave them on the counter as a sweet treat without the frosting and the kids will eat them just as quickly!)

Cupcake Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached flour, sometimes marked as bread flour)
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• salt
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

How to:

• In one bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder a a pinch of salt.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs (one at a time).
• Beat in the yogurt and the flour mixture alternating between the two until its all added.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Pour the mix into lined muffin tin filling each about half-way.
• Cook in 350 degree oven for about 14 minutes or when a knife inserted into the middles comes out clean.

Icing

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• 2 tablespoons yogurt (plain or vanilla) and this ingredient can be left off if you don't have it.

How to:

• Melt the butter.
• Mix in the sugar and yogurt.  It may be a little lumpy or smooth - it tastes just as good both ways.
• Frost your cupcakes by dipping them into the bowl face-down.  Give it a little twist on the way up and the cupcake is perfectly frosted.  Plus the kids love to do this step!

Enjoy!