Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Sounds delicious right?? Well...they ARE! These cupcakes taste AMAZINGLY like root beer and the frosting tastes just like vanilla ice cream. My friend LOVES root beer so I knew I had to make these for her birthday. I had quite a time trying to track down root beer extract for the cupcakes but I finally found it at a beverage brewing warehouse. I talked with the guy selling it to me and I ended up learning all about how to make soda! Very interesting stuff!! They had every kind of extract I could think of!!! They had all soda extracts but also liquor and beer extracts!! It was crazy!!! Now my husband wants Jagermeister cupcakes. LOL! Okay on to the recipes!!!

Root Beer Cupcakes

1 cup of Root Beer soda
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of root beer extract
1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Pinch of salt

1. Stir the Root Beer soda and vinegar together and let it sit for about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add in the sugar and oil, whisking vigorously for a couple of minutes. It should look frothy.

3. Stir in extracts.

4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, stirring in about 1/2 cup at a time. Do not overmix!

5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 350 F for 18-20 minutes. (Makes 12 cupcakes)

Vanilla Bean Frosting

1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
4 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon of milk

1. Beat the butter until you get a smooth consistency.

2. Beat in the vanilla bean paste.

3. Beat in 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar at a time.

4. Beat in the milk until all ingredients are completely combined.

Doesn't that look YUM-O!!!!!!! I could have eaten the whole bowl but that wouldn't have been very good for my waist or my cupcakes...but I did find another GREAT use for this frosting!!

Yep! Good ol' Teddy Grahams!!!! I haven't had them in YEARS but when I saw them at the grocery store the other day I had to get a box for old time's sake. They were as delicious as I remembered and even better with the vanilla frosting on them!!! :)

Here's how I brought my friend her birthday cupcake!! Isn't this box adorable? I found them at Hobby Lobby and they work perfectly!!!

So now I need y'alls help!!! I can't decide what cupcakes to make for my friend's Fourth of July party on Sunday!!!!! I was thinking about making a plain buttermilk cupcake but with red, white and blue marbled cake. I can't decide what frosting! Or maybe I can do plain white buttermilk cupcakes and then have fancy frosting...? I want it to be a cupcake everyone would like so that rules out my watermelon or pink lemonade cupcakes I've been wanting to make. What do y'all think??