happy thanksgiving!

here’s an alternative option to the pumpkin or apple desserts. i love pumpkin everything and today i had a pumpkin spice latte at starbucks. but. but. sometimes you need to mix it up. so baking something other than pumpkin for thanksgiving doesn’t hurt.

back to the alternative. i made these gooey cinnamon roll cupcakes with crystallized sugar on top. you can frost them but trust me, you can get away with out it.

do you have a staple dessert for thanksgiving? what is it? share it with me :)

or do you mix it up every year?

set your ingredients up and have them at room temperature. preheat oven at 350F.

cream the butter and add sugar. beat together until fluffy {2 1/2 minutes}. make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl to mix everything in.

beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. i don’t have a picture. but you can beat the egg whites in a different bowl and set them aside.

next add milk and vanilla and mix well.

add the flour, baking powder and salt mixture beating slowly. fold in the egg whites with a rubber spatula.

fill up the cupcake liners about half way with batter. then make the cinnamon swirl {deliciousness gooeyness} by melting butter in the microwave. add light brown sugar and cinnamon. start pouring 1 1/2 teaspoons of it in the center of the cupcake. i made a mini hole within the batter so the cinnamon roll swirl stays put. you can do this with a toothpick or a knife.

add more batter to fill 3/4 of the way or almost all the way. add more cinnamon roll goodness to the top.

add crystallized sugar on top and bake for 18 min. until the cupcakes look golden and bounce back when you touch the top.

yields 18 cupcakes

cupcakes ingredients:

dry –

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
1 teaspoon sea salt, sifted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
crystallized sugar for topping
**sift flour, baking powder and sea salt together**

wet –

1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature {sitting on the counter for 30-50 minutes approx.}
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup 2%, 1% or non-fat milk, room temperature {whichever you have in the fridge; sitting on the counter for 30-50 minutes approx.}
6 large egg whites beaten, room temperature {sitting on the counter for 30-50 minutes approx.}

cinnamon roll swirl:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup of light brown sugar, packed
sea salt to taste

note: if the cinnamon roll swirl hardens and it’s hard {no pun intended} to add to the batter, pop it in the microwave for 15 sec. or so until it’s liquidity and easy to pour again.

when cupcakes are out of the oven, take them out of the pan right away to cool. leaving them in the pan makes them soggy and greasy. at least that’s my tip to avoid that ;)

enjoy!

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