Root Beer Float cupcakes

     I pinned this recipe a few months ago, but haven't felt much like baking in our non-airconditioned house this summer. I finally got around to trying these this week, and they turned out great - I will definitely make them again, with a few minor changes.

{original recipe here} 

Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat together butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in root beer concentrate (*I thought the finished cupcakes could stand to have a slightly stronger root beer flavor. Next time I think I would use a little more root beer concentrate - maybe 3tsp.).

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder & salt.

With electric mixer on low speed, alternate adding  flour mixture and milk to butter/sugar/egg mixture, (so add half the flour mixture, then the milk, then the second half of the flour mixture). Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Evenly fill muffin cups with batter and bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Once cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

In large bowl, cream shortening & butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. 

Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. 

Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. 

(Above recipe makes approx. 3 c. of icing)

     The original recipe also calls for a cream filling, which I did not make (mostly because I was lazy and it seemed like an unnecessary extra step). See the original post for that recipe.

     Also, the store I bought my root beer concentrate from only sold it in tiny little vials (just enough for the cupcake batter), so I didn't have enough left to make the root beer glaze to drizzle on top, which I definitely want to do next time. I think it would add an extra pop of root beer flavor, and would dress the cupcakes up a little more too. To make the glaze, simply combine 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, 1/8 tsp. root beer concentrate and milk to desired consistency. I think you would want this to be on the thicker side so it doesn't just run off the icing. Stir it all up and drizzle over top of the frosted cupcakes.

Enjoy your weekend!