Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting



Happy Halloween!  It has been unseasonably warm this month in Santa Fe, and in the absence of cuddly sweaters and hot seasonal drinks I'm struggling to feel completely absorbed in the fall season, but the evenings are starting to get chilly and there is definitely a crispness to the air.  I'm down to (probably) my last full week at work before Baby makes her debut!  Tonight we're staying in and cheering on the Vikings while handing out candy to the neighborhood Trick-or-Treaters.

 I made these cupcakes last week to share with my coworkers and celebrate my most recent student's successful completion of her clinical rotation.  (While I hate saying goodbye to our really excellent students, I love an excuse to bake!)  They were so good I had to make another batch for the hubby to take to work today.  With pumpkin puree and milk, these cupcakes are soft, creamy, and comforting for fall.  The cinnamon cream cheese frosting is flavorful and spicy, and I had fun dressing these up with festive sprinkle and candy corn pumpkins!  Enjoy!

I love this particular Pumpkin Spice mix from the Savory Spice Shop.

Warm cupcakes straight from the oven!

Mixing up the frosting.

Yum!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting


From NinaHendrick.com

 Ingredients:

 For the Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
3 large eggs at room temperature

 For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
2 pounds confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
Extra cinnamon, sprinkles, or candies for garnish

 Directions:

 1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add cupcake liners to two 12-cupcake pans.
2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl and set aside. 
3.  Combine pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract in another bowl and set aside.
4.  Cream the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter in a stand mixer.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the pumpkin puree mixture, until all ingredients are combined.
5.  Fill eat cupcake liner 3/4 full.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
6.  To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.  Add the confectioner's sugar a little at a time until combined.  Add the vanilla and cinnamon.
7.  When the cupcakes are cooled, frost cupcakes and add decorations as you'd like.


Note:  I had enough frosting for two batches of cupcakes (4 dozen), so I would recommend making just half of the icing if you're only making 2 dozen cupcakes!

 Enjoy!!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Pacific Northwest Bachelorette Party

Image
I just returned home from a memorable weekend in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, celebrating my sister, Katie, who is getting married in just a few short weeks.  Four years ago she, as my Maid of Honor, planned the most unforgettable and fun-filled bachelorette weekend for me:  San Francisco and Sonoma Bachelorette , and now it was my turn to do the same for her!  We gathered together a group of twelve women from Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Manchester, Santa Fe, Denver, and Seattle to celebrate the Bride to Be.  I wanted to have some organized, pre-planned group activities, but also plenty of down time for games, lounging, and drinking wine.  While we wanted most of the weekend to be spent at a cozy cabin overlooking the serene water of Puget Sound, we wanted one exciting night out on the town, and I think we achieved that balance.  Here's the breakdown of our weekend events: 1)  Night Out in Capitol Hill We arrived...
Read more

High Altitude Baking: Coffee Cake

Image
Happy January!  I have two weeks left of my maternity leave and I'm trying to make the most of it by spending lots of quality time with Baby Ady before she starts daycare.  It's going by so fast!  While I'm home I've been using my crock pot a lot, working on some yarn projects, taking long walks with Ady and Kua, reading, and doing some baking.  I have struggled with high altitude baking since moving to Santa Fe 5 1/2 years ago.  Cookies turn out okay, but I usually have to make some adjustments with cakes, and my breads are often mushy in the middle and crispy on the ends.  I can get by okay with a few of my favorite recipes that I have practiced multiple times, but it's often hit or miss.  For Christmas, my secret santa got me this amazing cook book, Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes, that explains the chemistry behind high altitude baking and gives suggestions for adjustments to make at various altitudes.  Ingenious!  ...
Read more

My Bachelorette Party: San Francisco and Sonoma

Image
I have the best Maid of Honor in the world!   Between grad school, work, and preparing to move into a new apartment, she miraculously found time to plan THE BEST bachelorette party ever (and 3 time zones away, I might add).  I had such a fabulous time being surrounded by (and loved and adored by!) all my best friends for four days. The weekend started at 4:30 a.m. Thursday when my Santa Fe friends and I drove to Albuquerque (a 50 mile trip made possible by Panera breakfast) to catch our early flight to the Bay Area.  After a 2 1/2 trip (complete with Bloody Maries, Tequilla Sunrises, Coffees with Baileys, gossip and a few bridal magazines) we landed in Oakland!  One of my dear bridesmaids from Chicago who had arrived a few days earlier picked us up and we headed into San Francisco.  We met up with the other gals, checked in early to our hotel (Parc 55 Wyndahm in Union Square) and set out to explore the city by foot.  Som...
Read more