Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Cupcake number 5 in my journey was the wonderfully simple and oh so delicious Snickerdoodle cupcake! This recipe was one of Martha's easiest, no need to whip egg whites, no strange ingredients. The cinnamon gave the classic snickerdoodle flavor and appearance.
For the icing, Martha recommends her "Seven-Minute Frosting", which, after looking over, I decided would take much longer than 7 minutes. As soon as I saw the words "candy thermometer", I went to the store and bought a tub of Duncan Hines buttercream. And it still tasted delicious. She also decorated them with icing "puffs", which look really cute. I didn't have the right size of icing tip (Ateco #809), so I went with swirls. But never fear, I now have a large tip and I'm super excited to test it out!
Another note, Martha frequently calls for "cake flour" instead of, or in addition to, all-purpose flour. Cake flour does not exist at HEB, and is probably really expensive at Whole Foods, so I use only all-purpose, and it's EXACTLY THE SAME! Martha, you trickster you.

Background

My love of cupcakes and sweet things in general has been lifelong. I blame my family, I'm genetically predetermined to love dessert. My great-grandma's southern cooking is the stuff of legends that would make Paula Dean cry. This particular baking journey began when I spotted Martha's book in one of our many trips to the craft store. Flipping through, I immediately fell in love with the mouth-watering photos in the book and her creative ideas. The mother noticed and got it for me for Christmas, and since then I've been going through, trying to tackle each recipe.
Martha is definitely one of my idols. She is a FANTASTIC business woman. She was the first woman to build her cooking empire. Long before Oprah had her magazine or Rachel Ray had her show, Martha paved the way. She put up with a trivial sentence for a crime that countless men do ALL the time and never get "caught". And now she back on top and continuing to take over the world! A world that is soon to be filled with cupcakes!