Cinnamon Cappuccino Cupcakes Made With King Arthur Flour Cinnamon Chips

When King Arthur Flour contacted me after I made the killer maple-bacon biscuit bake from their recipe I was so happy that I nearly danced a little jig. How was it that an amazing company like that would notice little old me and, better yet, offer to send me something from their fantastic store to test out? Turns out a friend of a friend works there so she helped bring me to their attention but I can still feel proud that they were impressed enough to get in touch. Since I have no scruples I was all too happy to cast aside my integrity and sell out for the sake of getting a freebie. Even better that I get to be a shill for a company I genuinely like with products I happily recommend already.

I may not regularly buy their flour due to my frugal German tendencies -- although their white whole wheat flour, which I won when I attended a KAF baking demo, is amazing -- but I do make a habit of splurging on other baking ingredients from their catalog as you can see from this picture of every item I found in my cupboards that came from King Arthur Flour:


They're the ones who first introduced me to Vanilla Bean Crush, the only vanilla extract I'll use now. It's got specks of vanilla bean floating in it for a remarkably strong and authentic vanilla flavor. When I make pizza dough at home I make sure to throw in some of their Pizza Dough Flavor and Pizza Seasoning for a pizza parlor-like flavor. By far, the absolute best item I've ever bought from them, one which I regularly buy as gifts and rave about to anyone I meet, is their Vietnamese Cinnamon. When I first smelled it I knew no other cinnamon would ever compare. It's both stronger and sweeter than the plain old cinnamon you can buy in the grocery store so it gives an extra little kick to everything I bake with it.

When King Arthur Flour kindly made their offer to send me something from their catalog, I immediately knew what I wanted to choose. I've had my eye on their mini cinnamon chips for years, both because I love cinnamon so much and because these chips in particular have gotten great reviews from other customers. I am happy to report that they sent me a large one-pound bag so I'll be able to make many more recipes in the future.


For my first cinnamon chip baking experiment, I nabbed a recipe from Tasty Kitchen and made a few adjustment. They featured a cappuccino muffin recipe that already contained a hint of cinnamon in the batter, so why not swap in cinnamon chips for some of the chocolate chips called for in the recipe? I couldn't possibly go wrong with cinnamon coffee cupcakes studded with mini cinnamon chips and chocolate chips with an extra dose of caffeine in the coffee buttercream.

The cinnamon chips seem to be made with the same quality Vietnamese cinnamon I adore. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased with the cinnamon flavor of the chips. The miniature size is perfect for cupcakes, which can sometimes be overwhelmed by larger baking chips. They blended seamlessly into the finished cupcakes, almost melting completely in place so you're left with soft pockets of zesty cinnamon flavor. A wonderful surprise! Even if this hadn't been a freebie I'd still find myself recommending them as a wonderful addition to your baked goods. Hop on over to King Arthur Flour and treat yourself to something fun like these cinnamon chips. You can't go wrong with any of their quality ingredients and bakeware. I know you'll love anything you try!

Cinnamon Cappuccino Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

2 packages Starbucks Via Instant Coffee or enough instant coffee granules of your choice to make two cups of coffee
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup King Arthur Flour Cinnamon Mini Baking Chips
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 375°. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.
2) Dissolve Starbucks Via instant coffee in warm milk. Stir and mash with a spoon up against the side of the bowl until instant coffee is completely dissolved. Next, add melted butter, egg and vanilla and whisk until combined.
3) In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4) Pour wet ingredients into a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir well to incorporate completely. Finally, stir in the cinnamon chips and chocolate chips.
5) Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes.
6) Let cool in pan on rack for ten minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Coffee Buttercream
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon hot coffee

1) In a small bowl, mix together coffee granules and hot coffee. Stir until coffee granules are dissolved. Let cool completely.
2) In a small bowl, using an electric miser on low speed, beat together butter, sugar, and salt until well combined. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, beating until frosting is smooth.
3) Add cooled coffee to butter mixture, beating until smooth, creamy, and well mixed. You will need to scrape down sides of the bowl several times while mixing.