Blue Moon Cupcakes

Blue Moon Cupcakes

Over break, I made the most amazing cupcakes...they had a vanilla base and Blue Moon beer baked in the mix. I found the recipe on another blog, but I made some adjustments. These are made from scratch, but if you're pressed for time, I think you'd be able to just use a box mix and add the Blue Moon rather than water...but I'm not sure. Box recipes became popular because they were able to substitute oil for butter in a recipe-- but I don't know if adding beer into the mix will mess that up. Let me know how it goes if you decide to check that out!

Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour, sifted
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
* 1 orange, zested
* 2/3 cup Blue Moon, (Belgian White Beer)
* 2 tablespoons cream
      (if you need to use milk, don't use any other type other than whole--
      skim or lowfat will cause the cupcakes to crumble)

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

* 4 ounces of plain cream cheese, softened 

* 1 stick of butter, softened 

* 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice 

      (I just squeezed the whole orange left over after zesting it)

Instructions:

* Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate.  

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. In a separate bowl: sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for later.

3. Cream together softened butter and sugar until well mixed. 

4. Add one egg at a time until completely incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and ensure it's all incorporated.

5. Add vanilla and orange zest, and mix again.

6. Scoop batter into cupcake tins until halfway full.

7. Bake until cooked all the way through. Approximately 15-18 minutes. 

8. When cooled, frost the cupcakes and enjoy.