Opening Day!!

Now, if you know me, you know that I LOVE baseball!!  I mean, it's an emphatic, I-don't-care-who's-playing-I'm-watching, LOVE of the sport!!  Well, what better way to celebrate than to have hot dogs?  And what better place in Michigan to get them, than A&W!!???  In my excitement, I bought a gallon, yes, GALLON, of root beer from A&W.  After the food was gone, the excessive amount of root beer wasn't.  I started to think that we would have this for a while, but then I remembered "cupcake Friday", sooooooo....I made root beer cupcakes!!  Let me just say, these are FANTASTIC!! By far, my favorite I've made!!  You open the container, and you instantly smell it!  YUMM-O!!!  So, if you by chance, have a extra gallon of root beer hanging around at your house, I highly recommend this recipe!!!

Root Beer Float Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon root beer extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups root beer


Directions
Allow the butter and eggs to stand at room temperature.  Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set Aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Beating on medium speed until combines.  Scrape sides of bowl; beat on medium speed about 2 minutes more or until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in root beer extract and vanilla.  Alternately add flour mixture and root beer to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Spoon batter into lined muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in centers come out clean.  Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from muffin cups.  Cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting, I used this....

2 1/2to 3 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. root beer (not diet)
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

Mix ingredients until smooth. If too thick, add more root beer. If too thin, add more powdered sugar until you get a consistency that is easy to spread.

Hope you enjoy!!!