• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Oven Light
  • Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • About Us
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Make Ahead
  • Gluten Free
  • Healthy
  • Appetizers
  • Drinks
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • About Us
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Make Ahead
  • Gluten Free
  • Healthy
  • Appetizers
  • Drinks
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • About Us
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • Make Ahead
    • Gluten Free
    • Healthy
    • Appetizers
    • Drinks
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    • 10 Easy Healthy Summer Meal Recipes
    • Soft and sweet with a delicate crumb, these Sugar Cookie Bars are made with a simple replacement gluten free flour. Topped with a not-too-sweet frosting and decorated with sprinkles. Kids and adults will love it! #sugarcookie #cookiebars #kidfriendly
      Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Bars
    • Creamy Orange Cinnamon Sandwiches — 5 ingredients & 5 minutes
    • Sausage Gnocchi Skillet Meal | Quick, Healthy and Simple
    • Close up of pumpkin muffin with crumb topping.
      Easy Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with Maple Syrup
    • Olive and Artichoke Chicken | Make Ahead Weeknight Meal
    • Stuffed French Toast
      Make Ahead Stuffed French Toast with Creamy Orange Pecan Filling
    • Mediterranean Vegetable Pie - perfect recipe for vegetarians - so full of flavor and make ahead friendly!
      Mediterranean Vegetable Pie | Make Ahead Recipe
    • Easiest Overnight Sticky Buns | Just 5 Ingredients
    • Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins
    • Cinnamon Apricot Brie Appetizer
    • Lots of toffee cookies up close.
      Toffee Log Butter Cookies | Gluten Free Option
    Home / Dessert

    Butterscotch Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

    By 4 Comments

    Our new family favorite is these super simple Butterscotch Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Filled with the warm, buttery flavor of butterscotch and topped off with Fall's favorite spice; cinnamon! Totally delicious and not overly sweet, the whole neighborhood will love these!

    Jump to Recipe
    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    Tips for making perfect cupcakes

    1. Do NOT over mix your batter. As soon as the streaks of flour are gone, turn the mixer off. Over mixing creates a "breadier", tough cupcake. No one wants that.
    2. Room temperature is very important. While it may seem unnecessary, mixing ingredients together when they're cold will cause your batter to split and give you an uneven bake.
    3. Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full. Over filling will cause your cupcakes to spill and burn. Under filling will . . . well, you just get a tiny cupcake, and who wants that?
    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    Can I make gluten free butterscotch cupcakes?

    Absolutely! I used Namaste gluten free flour blend from Costco and Bob's Red Mill. Both turned out delicious and light. No other modifications need to be made to the recipe.

    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    How to store cupcakes

    Unfrosted cupcakes are easy to store and will stay soft and fluffy for a few days. Just cover tightly with saran wrap or in a zip top bag and leave at room temperature. After a few days, place in the refrigerator for up to a week to stay fresh. If you want to freeze your cupcakes, just wrap individually and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow cupcakes to come to room temperature, then simply frost and serve.

    Frosting can also be saved in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Allow to come to room temperature in order to spread or scoop into a zip top bag, snip the corner and pipe the frosting in pretty pillows on top. And I always like to add a little something on the frosting. For these cupcakes I sprinkled a little mix of cinnamon and sugar. So pretty!

    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    Ingredients for cupcake perfection

    Butterscotch Chips - The best way to get real butterscotch cupcake flavor is to go straight to the source. Browned butter can give a hint of this flavor, but for a real punch of flavor, nothing beats butterscotch chips.

    Sour Cream - Sour cream in cakes lends a lot of moisture without causing it to be dense.

    All-Purpose Flour or Gluten Free Flour Blend - There's no need for cake flour, just plain flour will work great! The cupcakes pictured were made with Namaste gluten free flour.

    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    How to make butterscotch cupcakes

    Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with liners. This recipe makes 12-14 cupcakes

    Melt butterscotch chips with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a microwave at 30 second increments, stirring each time, until smooth. The mixture would seize a little bit with the heat, so I added another teaspoon of oil and it smoothed right out. Set this aside to cool a little.

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3 minutes on medium speed.

    Add room temperature eggs, vanilla and room temperature sour cream. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

    In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

    Pour the cooled butterscotch chips into the stand mixer and beat until mostly smooth, about 1 minute. (The batter may appear to be split a little, it will come together as you add the flour.)

    Slowly add the flour mixture with the mixer running on low.

    As soon as the flour is mixed in, turn off the mixer. Do NOT over mix. Over mixing will develop the gluten and result in a tough, flavorless cupcake. Blech.

    Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched.

    There you go! Delicious Butterscotch Cupcakes! The frosting takes just a few minutes to whip up and you're ready for an amazing little treat! This recipe has become a neighborhood favorite!

    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    Looking for fall recipes? Try these!

    • Grain Free Granola
    • Easy Pumpkin Bread
    • Pork Loin with Apricot Balsamic Sauce
    • Pork Tenderloin with Fig Sauce
    • Orange Cranberry Bliss Cookies
    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor.

    Butterscotch Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

    Deliciously sweet butterscotch cupcakes paired with cinnamon frosting makes a delightful fall treat the entire family will love. Plus, the recipe is very simple and uses mostly pantry staples.
    Total Time: 48 minutes minutes
    Servings: 14 cupcakes
    PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

    Ingredients

    Butterscotch Cupcakes

    • ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick
    • ½ cup butterscotch chips melted
    • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
    • 2 large eggs room temperature
    • ¾ cup light brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup sour cream room temperature
    • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten free flour blend
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

    • ½ cup cream cheese softened
    • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
    • Melt butterscotch chips with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a microwave at 30 second increments, stirring each time, until smooth. Set aside. Add another teaspoon of oil if the mixture seizes.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 3 minutes on medium speed.
    • Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
    • In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
    • Pour the cooled butterscotch chips into the stand mixer and beat until mostly smooth, about 1 minute. (The batter may appear to be split a little, it will come together as you add the flour.)
    • Slowly add the flour mixture with the mixer running on low.
    • As soon as the flour is mixed in, turn off the mixer. Do NOT over mix.
    • Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched.

    Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

    • In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
    • Turn the mixer off and add ½ the powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture. Stir until fully combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar.
    • Whisk frosting on high for about 1 minute, until mixture is fully combined and light and fluffy.
    • Scoop frosting into a zip top bag and snip one corner. (Or use a piping bag and your favorite tip.) Squeeze a dollop of frosting in the center of each cupcake. Top it off with butterscotch chips or your favorite fall sprinkles. ENJOY!

    Notes

    I don't like a ton of frosting on my cupcakes, but if you do, feel free to double the frosting recipe and really pile it on!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 223mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 503IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg
    Butterscotch Cupcakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting - Lightly sweet cupcakes made with melted butterscotch chips and topped with a simple cinnamon frosting. Perfect flavor combination, the ultimate fall flavor. #butterscotch #falldesserts #cinnamon

    More Dessert Recipes

    • Hand serving a slice of pecan cake with the rest of the cake in the background.
      Sweet Pecan Cake with Maple Frosting | Gluten Free Option
    • Close up of dried cranberry on top of white chocolate on top of cookie on a cooling rack.
      Orange Cranberry Bliss Cookies | Gluten Free Option
    • Dairy Free Hot Chocolate
      Dairy Free Hot Chocolate | 5 minutes
    • Chocolate Caramel Cake
      Super Quick Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake from a Box Mix

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lori K.

      June 16, 2024 at 10:06 pm

      Since the frosting is made from cream cheese, I assume the cupcakes need to be stored in the refrigerator once frosted?

      Reply
      • Amy

        June 18, 2024 at 3:51 pm

        Yes! Good point. Cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to a week, but will be best within 3 days of icing. Enjoy!

        Reply
    2. Anonymous

      March 24, 2022 at 3:34 am

      Oh hi! Do you know if this recipe would work fine in a regular cake pan?

      Reply
      • Amy

        March 25, 2022 at 4:16 pm

        I did not try it, but it should work great! I would use 2 8" round pans. Enjoy!

        Reply
    5 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello!
    I'm Amy

    I’m excited to share with you my favorite recipes and time-saving tips—it's something I truly enjoy! Every recipe you discover here is one I personally prepare for my family, and each comes with my heartfelt guarantee.

    LEARN MORE

    Trending Recipes

    • Yellow Cake Mix Coffee Cake
      Yellow Cake Mix Coffee Cake
    • Berry Oat Bars with No Refined Sugar. Simple recipe, ready in less than 30 minutes. Raspberry preserves tucked inside layers of crumbly oat mixture. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!
      Berry Oat Bars | Healthy One Bowl Recipe
    • Pizza Dough
      Pizza Dough - Ready in Minutes with No Rise Time
    • Overhead view of four Korean BBQ tacos laying on a white plate.
      Korean BBQ Tacos with Quick Kimchi

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 The Oven Light

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.