This Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes recipe makes six fabulous moist vanilla cupcakes topped with a quick and easy American buttercream frosting.
Happy Friday, friends. How has your week been? Not going to lie, mine has been STRESSFUL. Between all the garbage in the world right now and Baking Mischief breaking itself twice(!!) within 24 hours (Were you around for the site weirdness on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning? It was not pretty.), “chill” has not been a word in my vocabulary this week.
But guess what, the week is almost over, it’s sunny and 70 degrees here in Southern California, and we are all still here. That’s something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for kind popstar quotes , silly unicorn drinks , and all the other small joys in my life, and when I remember that, the world does feel just a little less garbage.
Speaking of small joys, who could go for a cupcake right about now? (Guys, I’m so great at segues.)
These Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes have definitely been one of the small joys of my week. I shot the photos for this post a couple weeks ago–those who follow my Instagram stories might recognize them– but I actually made them again this morning because I felt like this week deserved cupcakes to celebrate its end. And since they are small batch, I can totally get away with that.
This small-batch cupcake recipe makes just six cute little vanilla cupcakes. I like the half dozen count because it’s just enough to share if I have a couple of friends over but not so many that I feel like I have to find homes for all of them if I decide to do some cupcake baking on a whim some lazy weekend.
And these cupcakes are perfect for a lazy weekend because they are super simple to make. You just need one bowl, some baking staples, and a cupcake craving, and you are just a tiny bit of effort away from some seriously yummy little cupcakes.
These vanilla cupcakes are on the moist and heavier side (if you want something super light and airy, I recommend my Small-batch Angel Food Cupcakes ). They are super soft with an incredibly tender crumb and get topped off with a classic easy American vanilla buttercream and of course, some sprinkles.
If you feel like mixing and matching, you can also use the chocolate buttercream from my Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes –that’s what I did this morning and it was FAB.
And I will totally admit that a cupcake is not going to cure all the world’s ills, BUT, if you need a small joy in your life this weekend, I heartily recommend one of these.
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Notes
- Be sure to use properly softened butter where called for. Butter that is too cold could result in your cupcakes sinking and melty butter can result in flatter, possibly oily cupcakes.
- For the best cupcakes, use a kitchen scale (my preferred choice) or the Spoon and Sweep Method, spoon flour into your measuring cup and sweep excess off with the flat of a knife, to measure your flour otherwise your cupcakes will be too dense!
- If you plan on spreading your frosting with a knife rather than piping, cut the buttercream recipe in half.
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
- ▢ 6-cup cupcake pan full size works too!!
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons ( 87g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg white
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60g ) all-purpose flour measured using the spoon and sweep method and divided
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon milk any percentage
Vanilla Buttercream
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon milk or cream
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Pinch of salt
- ▢ Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line your cupcake pan with 6 liners.
- In a medium bowl combine butter and sugar and using a handheld electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add egg white and vanilla . Beat on medium until smooth.
- Add 1/4 cup ( 30g ) of the flour , baking powder , and salt . And mix on low until incorporated.
- Mix in milk on low. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and mix on medium until well-mixed and smooth. Divide batter between prepared cupcake cups, filling just under 2/3 full. This should make exactly 6 cupcakes. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with just a couple dry crumbs.
- Transfer to a cooling rack when the cupcakes are cool enough to handle and cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In a medium bowl, combine butter , powdered sugar , milk or cream, vanilla, and salt . Beat until frosting comes together, adding milk by the 1/2 teaspoon as necessary.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe over cupcakes or use a knife to spread frosting. Top with sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!
These small-batch chocolate cookies stuffed full of crushed Oreos and Andes are a little crunchy, a little minty, and completely delicious.
We made it to Friday! What are you doing for the long weekend? Do you have any fun Easter plans? I plan on enjoying the spring sunshine with some long, rambling walks, testing a few new recipes, and eating far too much Easter candy on Sunday morning.
Today’s recipe is another decadent chocolate dessert (because after last Friday’s Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes , of course we needed even more chocolate), Small-batch Chocolate Cookies With Oreos and Andes.
These things first came about a few weeks ago when I was shooting the video for my Small-batch Buckeye Brownie Cookies and I had some leftover cookie dough, some Oreos, some Andes, and a dream, and the result was these magical little (giant) babies.
Guys, these cookies are sooooooooo good. The cookie base is my fav chocolate brownie cookie (originally seen in my Mini Hot Chocolate Cookies ), which is super rich and fudgy since it’s made with melted chocolate in the dough, and the Andes mints give them just the right level of minty flavor that’s not too overwhelming. And I know it might sound weird to chop up an Oreo cookie and put it in another cookie, but trust me, it’s the best and tastiest sort of weird.
This small-batch recipe makes a half dozen nice hefty cookies. One will definitely satisfy your chocolate craving. You can share the leftovers if you are feeling generous (not going to lie, I gave away most of the batch from these photos and I REGRET it) or hoard them (recommended) and keep them in the freezer. Like my Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies , they freeze really well and are great cold, which makes them a pretty perfect cookie choice considering summer is not too far off.
Small-batch Chocolate Cookies Recipe Notes
- Because of the melted chocolate in the recipe, the cookie dough looks more like brownie batter before chilling and like fudge after. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to look like that. 😉
- Please note the lower-than-usual baking temperature of 325°! If your oven is too hot the cookies will melt into puddles.
- If you don’t keep Oreos stocked, no need to buy a big package in the snack aisle (unless you want to!). Grab a six-pack or one of the little tubs of minis in the checkout lane.
Ingredients
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter
- ▢ 2/3 cup ( 4oz ) semi-sweet chocolate chopped chips are fine
- ▢ 1/3 cup + 1 heaping tablespoon ( 85g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg
- ▢ 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon ( 70g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ( 10g ) cocoa powder
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 8 Andes mint candies* chopped, plus optional more for topping
- ▢ 2 Oreo cookies chopped, plus optional more for topping
Instructions
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If necessary, microwave for an additional 15 seconds, stir, and repeat until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Whisk in chocolate mixture until well-combined.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and stir until just combined. Fold in mints and cookies.
- Lay a sheet of cling wrap on the counter, and scrape dough out of the bowl, onto the cling wrap.* Wrap dough and press it out so you have a rough rectangle. Chill dough for 45 minutes, until firm.
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Unwrap dough and use a dough scraper or knife to cut into six even pieces. Roll the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. (For prettier cookies, press a couple extra pieces of Oreo into the top of each cookie before baking.)
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are crinkled and centers look set.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet and enjoy! (If desired, place extra Andes pieces on the cookies right after they come out of the oven.)
Notes
Recipe Adapted From Stepable
This recipe for Chocolate Milk for One makes one cup of amazing, delicious, really good chocolate milk with just four ingredients.
Hey, did you know that (under very specific circumstances) chocolate milk can be considered a “health food”?
A couple summers ago, I was putting on some serious running mileage and struggling with crashing after my long runs. I did a little research and discovered that the most easily accessible recommended recovery drink for distance runners is actually chocolate milk!
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! <–That was my reaction.
I added 8 to 12 ounces of chocolate milk to the end of anything over 12 miles and I never crashed again. It was amazing. Plus, my local dairy sells some absolutely killer chocolate milk, so it was fun to have an excuse to indulge.
Two years and an injury later, and my long runs are not all that long anymore, so I don’t have a good excuse to buy a gallon of the stuff. But I still get a craving for some really good chocolate milk every once in a while.
So now I make just one cup.
This recipe makes 8 ounces of really good chocolate milk. And you can make it in your microwave.
There are only four ingredients, milk (the higher fat the tastier), cocoa powder, sugar, and a tiny bit of water. You heat 1/4 of the milk with the rest of the ingredients to make a chocolate syrup and then mix it with the remaining milk which cools everything down so it’s ready within about two minutes.
It’s great if you need a long-run recovery drink–just throw it together while you are shoveling down breakfast, and have it waiting in the fridge for when you can back.
And it’s perfect if you are just craving a glass of chocolate milk, because maybe your long run wasn’t all that long today, but darn it, you still deserve something delicious. 😉
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 5g ) cocoa powder*
- ▢ 1 tablespoon water
- ▢ 1 cup milk , divided (any percentage*)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12g ) sugar
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe cup or mug, combine cocoa powder and water. Microwave for 15 to 20 seconds, until steaming, and stir until very smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and the sugar, and microwave for an additional 15 to 30 seconds, until steaming. Stir until completely mixed. Stir in remaining milk and enjoy.
Notes
This Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes recipe makes six fabulous moist vanilla cupcakes topped with a quick and easy American buttercream frosting.
Happy Friday, friends. How has your week been? Not going to lie, mine has been STRESSFUL. Between all the garbage in the world right now and Baking Mischief breaking itself twice(!!) within 24 hours (Were you around for the site weirdness on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning? It was not pretty.), “chill” has not been a word in my vocabulary this week.
But guess what, the week is almost over, it’s sunny and 70 degrees here in Southern California, and we are all still here. That’s something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for kind popstar quotes , silly unicorn drinks , and all the other small joys in my life, and when I remember that, the world does feel just a little less garbage.
Speaking of small joys, who could go for a cupcake right about now? (Guys, I’m so great at segues.)
These Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes have definitely been one of the small joys of my week. I shot the photos for this post a couple weeks ago–those who follow my Instagram stories might recognize them– but I actually made them again this morning because I felt like this week deserved cupcakes to celebrate its end. And since they are small batch, I can totally get away with that.
This small-batch cupcake recipe makes just six cute little vanilla cupcakes. I like the half dozen count because it’s just enough to share if I have a couple of friends over but not so many that I feel like I have to find homes for all of them if I decide to do some cupcake baking on a whim some lazy weekend.
And these cupcakes are perfect for a lazy weekend because they are super simple to make. You just need one bowl, some baking staples, and a cupcake craving, and you are just a tiny bit of effort away from some seriously yummy little cupcakes.
These vanilla cupcakes are on the moist and heavier side (if you want something super light and airy, I recommend my Small-batch Angel Food Cupcakes ). They are super soft with an incredibly tender crumb and get topped off with a classic easy American vanilla buttercream and of course, some sprinkles.
If you feel like mixing and matching, you can also use the chocolate buttercream from my Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes –that’s what I did this morning and it was FAB.
And I will totally admit that a cupcake is not going to cure all the world’s ills, BUT, if you need a small joy in your life this weekend, I heartily recommend one of these.
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Notes
- Be sure to use properly softened butter where called for. Butter that is too cold could result in your cupcakes sinking and melty butter can result in flatter, possibly oily cupcakes.
- For the best cupcakes, use a kitchen scale (my preferred choice) or the Spoon and Sweep Method, spoon flour into your measuring cup and sweep excess off with the flat of a knife, to measure your flour otherwise your cupcakes will be too dense!
- If you plan on spreading your frosting with a knife rather than piping, cut the buttercream recipe in half.
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
- ▢ 6-cup cupcake pan full size works too!!
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons ( 87g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg white
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60g ) all-purpose flour measured using the spoon and sweep method and divided
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon milk any percentage
Vanilla Buttercream
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon milk or cream
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Pinch of salt
- ▢ Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line your cupcake pan with 6 liners.
- In a medium bowl combine butter and sugar and using a handheld electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add egg white and vanilla . Beat on medium until smooth.
- Add 1/4 cup ( 30g ) of the flour , baking powder , and salt . And mix on low until incorporated.
- Mix in milk on low. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and mix on medium until well-mixed and smooth. Divide batter between prepared cupcake cups, filling just under 2/3 full. This should make exactly 6 cupcakes. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with just a couple dry crumbs.
- Transfer to a cooling rack when the cupcakes are cool enough to handle and cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In a medium bowl, combine butter , powdered sugar , milk or cream, vanilla, and salt . Beat until frosting comes together, adding milk by the 1/2 teaspoon as necessary.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe over cupcakes or use a knife to spread frosting. Top with sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
- 6-cup cupcake pan full size works too!!
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons ( 87g ) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup ( 60g ) all-purpose flour measured using the spoon and sweep method and divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon milk any percentage
Vanilla Buttercream
- 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon milk or cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line your cupcake pan with 6 liners.
- In a medium bowl combine butter and sugar and using a handheld electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add egg white and vanilla . Beat on medium until smooth.
- Add 1/4 cup ( 30g ) of the flour , baking powder , and salt . And mix on low until incorporated.
- Mix in milk on low. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and mix on medium until well-mixed and smooth. Divide batter between prepared cupcake cups, filling just under 2/3 full. This should make exactly 6 cupcakes. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with just a couple dry crumbs.
- Transfer to a cooling rack when the cupcakes are cool enough to handle and cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In a medium bowl, combine butter , powdered sugar , milk or cream, vanilla, and salt . Beat until frosting comes together, adding milk by the 1/2 teaspoon as necessary.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe over cupcakes or use a knife to spread frosting. Top with sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!
