My favorite breakfast growing up was simple... cinnamon and sugar toast. I loved the dark spicy taste of cinnamon combined with sweet sugar.
I distinctly remember one morning when the simple toast was off just a tad. With toast in hand, I took a big bite, chewed, and swallowed. Still groggy from just waking up, I hesitated to take another bite... there was something wrong with my beloved breakfast. I took another bite and quickly spit it out. Then, my mom smelled the toast and laughed, she could tell it wasn't cinnamon. So just what was the brown spice she used??? Celery Salt!! We still laugh about this and I learned the hard way to always double check the label!
After slaving away making the ladybug cookies, I had a hankering to bake something simple and sweet and the cinnamon and sugar mini cupcakes - a recipe that reminded me of my favorite childhood breakfast - was just the ticket!
Cinnamon and Sugar Mini Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (any fat content)
Topping
5 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
3. In a bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter for a minute. Add sugar and beat on medium until pale and fluffy.
4. Beat in egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth and thick.
5. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until incorporated.6. Spray a mini cupcake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop batter into mini cupcake pan. No need to use paper liners.
Bake roughly 10 minutes or until tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once cupcakes have cooled, transfer to a cooling rack.
Now the best part... the topping! Melt the butter in a small bowl. In another bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon. One at a time, dunk a cupcake in the bowl of butter, then in the bowl of cinnamon and sugar.
Marbled Cupcakes
From Martha Stewart
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising) sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.
3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter. 
4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
Milk Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (or more)
3 tablespoons milk
1. Whisk together ingredients until smooth.
2. When cupcakes are at room temperature, drizzle milk glaze for an extra sweet taste.
Instead of milk glaze, use confectioners' sugar
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Sprinkles Dark Chocolate Cupcake mix with Spatula from Fiesta Products
Every lazy Sunday morning needs a lazy activity. You know, an activity you can do quickly with very little effort...enter Sprinkles cupcake mix! Available at Williams-Sonoma, Sprinkles cupcake mix is created by Sprinkles, the beloved cupcake shop started in Beverly Hills. The mix comes in a variety of flavors and inside each package are the signature confectioners' "dots" that finish Sprinkles cupcakes. I used the chocolate mix for my lazy activity!
The mix is packaged in a little tube and comes with instructions that are just a tad bit more elaborate than what you'd find on a Pillsbury cake mix box. For the ingredients you will need: butter, eggs, and milk. Then simply mix and bake!
My favorite breakfast growing up was simple... cinnamon and sugar toast. I loved the dark spicy taste of cinnamon combined with sweet sugar.
Bake roughly 10 minutes or until tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once cupcakes have cooled, transfer to a cooling rack.
