Golden Buttermilk Cupcakes

Delish! I made these two nights in a row now, and the disappear faster than you can say "CUPCAKES!" Everyone in the family loved them and couldn't but have two ;) What I like about these is that they are so amazingly simple but still satisfy that spot, especially when they are fresh out of the oven and warm. It's been so rainy and gloomy outside that warm soft cakes and treats are a necessity for the evenings inside. So here we go. Hope you enjoy them as much as my family did! (Unfortunately they went to fast to take pictures ;p)

Ingredients

1 stick of butter (or 4 ounces) (I used salted and just don't add extra salt to the recipe, if you have unsalted, go ahead and add a pinch of salt into the flour mixture)

1 cup of sugar

1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract (just estimate, we love vanilla over here so I probably put in more like 1/4 teaspoon)

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Preparation

1. I used my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle, it definitely makes it so much more light and fluffy. I recommend getting one if you think it is a worthy investment :)

2. Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, add the vanilla extract and mix.

3. SIFT (don't skip sifting) the flour and baking powder together (and salt if you used unsalted butter). I just dump all of that into the sifter and sift it all at once...it will mix as it sifts! Give it a little stir after to make sure the baking powder is distributed evenly.

4. Add half the flour to the wet mixture, mix, add half the buttermilk and mix. Repeat for the rest, alternate flour and buttermilk.

5. Spoon into the cupcake cups and Ta Da! Into the oven it goes! How much easier could it possibly be!?

6. Bake for about 20 minutes. All ovens are different so as soon as the edges of the cupcake turns golden they're ready!

You can do anything with these cupcakes, add frosting, dust with icing sugar, fill the center with jam....There are endless possibilities.

Recipe adapted from Celebrating Cupcakes and Muffins.