Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing

If there ever was a dessert that screams fall (pumpkin and apple recipes aside), it’s these Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing. They’re made with rich, nutty brown butter and sweetened with a cup of brown sugar. Vanilla and cinnamon add more sweet, warm flavor and these cupcakes are topped with the creamiest, caramel-like brown sugar cream cheese icing! Bonus: these moist, delicious cupcakes are super easy to make!

ABOUT THESE SUPER FLAVORFUL CUPCAKES

As you can tell by the name of these Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing, they are literally full of flavor! These cupcakes are made with:

• Brown butter
• Brown Sugar
• Vanilla
• Cinnamon
• Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing

So much flavor! Texture-wise, these cupcakes are moist and tender and the icing is ultra creamy!

I can’t get enough of brown sugar cupcakes and these Brown Sugar Butterscotch Cupcakes by Sally’s Baking Addiction are definitely on my must bake list!

EASY TO MAKE

In addition to being SO GOOD, these cupcakes are also easy to make. The cupcake batter does not require a mixer and they bake up in twenty minutes or less!

SIMPLE STEPS TO MAKING THESE CUPCAKES

1. BROWN THE BUTTER. SET ASIDE TO COOL.
2. LINE THE CUPCAKE TIN AND PREHEAT THE OVEN.
3. WHISK TO COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS IN A LARGE BOWL.
4. IN A MEDIUM BOWL, MIX TOGETHER THE WET INGREDIENTS.
5. STIR IN HALF THE WET INGREDIENTS INTO THE DRY. MIX IN THE REST OF THE WET INGREDIENTS AND STIR UNTIL JUST COMBINED.
6. BAKE 16-18 MINUTES. COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE FROSTING.
7. MAKE THE BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING AND FROST. ENJOY!

BAKING WITH BROWN BUTTER

Browning the butter only takes minutes but adds such a nice toasty, nutty flavor. It gives the otherwise basic melted butter a bit more depth of flavor. If you’ve never made brown butter before, I recommend watching this How to Make Brown Butter video from Simply Recipes.

Brown butter adds so much flavor that you’ll want to add it to baked goods as often as possible! I love using it for cookies such as these yummy Brown Butter Chocolate Toffee Cookies and these classic Brown Butter Chocolate Cookies.

Brownie lovers should definitely try these super indulgent Brown Butter Brownies. I even snuck some brown butter into these Chocolate Chip Rice Krispie Treats….you have to melt the butter anyway so I figured why not take it a step further and brown it for all that toasty, nutty flavor!

HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER FOR BROWN BUTTER FOR THESE CUPCAKES

1. Chop or slice your butter and add it to a skillet over medium heat. It’s better to use a light colored skillet so that you can best see the color of the butter as it cooks. Stir occasionally at first.
2. After about a minute, the butter will have melted and will start to come to a boil and start to sputter and bubble. At this point, you’re going to want to whisk it constantly.
3. You’ll be stirring the sputtering butter for 4-5 minutes. Turn the heat down a little if the sputtering gets a bit out of control during this time.
4. After the sputtering, you’ll notice the butter start to foam. As you whisk, you’ll start to see little bits (milk solids) at the bottom of the pot. When those bits become light brown and the butter begins changing color, remove the pan from heat and continue whisking for another minute.
5. Once your butter has turned to a light caramel color, pour it, along with all its flavorful bits, into a heat safe bowl to stop the cooking.

Leave the butter to cool at room temperature. Begin assembling the dry ingredients and lining your cupcake tin. When the butter is no longer hot to the touch, you can use it in the recipe.

BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING

I first made this brown sugar cream cheese icing for my super yummy Pumpkin Carrot Cake recipe and I’m still hearing awesome things from friends about both the cake and the icing! I can’t blame them. It has the usual creamy, fresh taste of cream cheese icing but the brown sugar amazingly adds this subtle yet definitely detectable caramelish flavor!

Use either light or dark brown sugar for the icing. I used light brown sugar because I wanted my icing to be lighter so it would contrast nicely with the cupcakes. That said, making it with dark brown sugar adds a bit more flavor since it has more molasses in it. So…light or dark brown sugar….both are yummy options!

HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR CREAM CHEESE ICING

1. USE ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS: It’s essential to use room temperature cream cheese and butter. I recommend taking these ingredients out for at least an hour before making the icing.
2. SIFT THE POWDERED SUGAR: Even though it’s going to go into a mixer, I highly recommend sifting it first. It only takes a minute and makes sure you don’t have any little bumps of powdered sugar in your icing.
3. USE FRESH BROWN SUGAR: Brown sugar can get hard lumps if it’s not fresh which will make the sugar harder to dissolve into the icing.
4. SCRAPE DOWN THE SIDES OF THE BOWL: I do this with any icing I make, but it’s especially helpful with this recipe to make sure the flavors are combined and that the brown sugar has dissolved.
5. ADD MORE POWDERED SUGAR, TO ACHIEVE PERFECT CONSISTENCY: If you find you want the icing to be a bit thicker, add more sifted powdered sugar, a bit at a time.
6. ALLOW THE CAKE TO COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE ICING IT: I know it’s tempting to want to dig in ASAP, but wait til your cupcakes have cooled completely before icing it. The icing could melt a bit and become a little runny if the cupcakes are still warm.

FROSTING THE CUPCAKES

I chose to pipe the icing on for these cupcakes and actually experimented with two different piping tips. My favorite of the two was definitely the tall swirl which I created with the Wilton 1M. For the simpler look, I used my Ateco 808. If you don’t have those piping tips, here are a few suggestions on how to frost your cupcakes:

• Use an Ice Cream Scoop: Definitely the easiest method and it gives you a modern looking cupcake.
• Use a Knife or Offset Spatula: This is also super simple and gives your cupcakes a sweet, simple look.

TOP WITH A SPRINKLE OF BROWN SUGAR

I used light brown sugar in my icing and sprinkled dark brown sugar on top of the icing. It’s best to do this before it sets so it sticks. The little sprinkle of sugar just adds a little sparkle and hints at the flavor of both the icing and the cupcakes!

SERVING AND STORING THESE CUPCAKES

These Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes are best served at room temperature, the same day they’re made. To store the cupcakes, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Buttery, brown sugar flavored with sweet and warm hints of vanilla and cinnamon and generously topped with a must try brown sugar icing. These Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing are my new favorite fall recipe. I love mine for dessert and my husband reaches for them for breakfast alongside his coffee! Enjoy them for dessert or just as a sweet treat for anytime of the day.

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