Champagne cupcakes
As I mentioned in the Strawberry cupcake post, I made 6 dozen cupcakes for a cousin’s graduation party. I wanted to try the champagne cupcakes since they seemed fitting for the celebratory occasion.
The cake was deliciously moist and had a great texture. The frosting did as well. I couldn’t really taste a strong champagne flavor but hubby said he really could. They were definitely a hit.
Champagne Cupcakes – from Crazy about Cupcakes
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup champagne
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
In a separate medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter until blended, then fold in the remaining egg whites until well blended.
Fill the cupcakes liners 3/4 full. Baker for ~20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan.
Once completely cooled, brush 1 Tbsp of champagne onto the tops of the cupcakes.
Champagne Frosting – from Crazy about Cupcakes
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Tbsp champagne
4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
In a large bowl beat the shortening and butter until combined. Add the champagne. Slowly add the confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Aren’t they the best? They’re so addicting. I’ve actually starting using the same ingredients, but mixing them like a more traditional chocolate chip cookie (i.e., softened butter instead of melted), because I like the dough better with softened butter. The baked cookies were just as good. Best of both worlds!
These look gorgeous. Don’t you just love AB??? 🙂
The cookies look great. I love AB too..he’s such a dork (in a good way).
I love the ATK/CI Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I will have to try these to see what I think. I remember seeing that the recipes looked similar so I am sure I will love them.
Another AB lover here. My husband gives me a hard time about my DVR list with him but loves it when I give him a fun tidbit or cook him something from AB.
I completely agree CoCo. Hubby does the same thing. I sometimes even watch episodes I’ve seen before! Hubby doesn’t like to admit it, but he loves AB too. Sometimes he’ll be the one saying “AB says to do this…”
They look SO good!! I am a sucker for a chewy chocolate chip cookie. Although, I must side with your hubby – I prefer mine with just a bit of chocolate.
How much is a stick of butter? I’m not in the US and have never come across this measurement before.
Sorry about that Naomi – 1 stick of butter = 8 Tbsp. Does that help?
this is very similar to the ccc recipe i use, but anything that makes it chewier is good in my books! i will have to keep this one in mind 🙂
Yes Jen, thank you!
Yum! I will definitely be trying these. I always chill my cookie dough too usually because I’m too busy with 3 little ones but I also read that article in the NY times awhile ago and I felt like I deserved a nice big pat on the back for always doing the 24hour chill 🙂 Great post and beautiful cookies!
I love Alton Brown because of his scientific approach to cooking and baking. I’ve been baking “The Chewy” for years. One thing I do differently: Before chilling the dough, I scoop it into balls. This makes the process much easier. Sometimes I freeze the balls for baking later. After I place the balls on parchment, I carefully place a few extra chocolate morsels on top, pointy side up. This extra step produces picture-perfect cookies every time.
The Chewy is my go to recipe for cookies. I make a few alterations, occasionally, such as substituting 1/4 of the brown sugar with dark brown sugar. I bake small portions in mini muffin tins; one batch makes 48 cookie bites that are super chewy and the perfect size bite. I’ve made them every year for Christmas gifts for a few years now.