Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes

Last week I shared our tablescape idea for Chester’s Halloween Pirate Themed Birthday Party. And I promised I would share recipes for the amazing pumpkin spiced cupcakes that we used. These cupcakes are just extraordinary. I mean, if you enjoy pumpkin spiced anything, you’re going to love these. Plus, they are so much fun do decorate in all the beautiful fall colors. You can make them look truly elegant, or you can let the kids decorate their own!

Whatever you choose, these cupcakes are sure to please.

These cupcakes are fairly simple to make. The real joy comes when it’s time to decorate them. SUPER fun! I also love dressing cupcakes up with fun paper wrappers. In this case, I used some Wilton wrappers bought from JoAnn Fabrics, but you can find them online, as well.

I apologize for the lack of in-process photos. I got so caught up in baking/decorating that I didn’t even think to take any! Still, it’s the finished product that is impressive, so hopefully you’ll forgive me.

Ingredients:

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, Sifted
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Applesauce
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Brush a 12-cup muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of an stand mixer, use whisk attachment, beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until soft peaks form.
3. Add the egg and mix well, if necessary stop and scrape down bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Add apple sauce and mix until incorporated.
5. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, Kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Beat on low speed until just combined.
6. Use an ice-cream scoop or tablespoon distribute the batter evenly in the among the prepared muffin cups.
7. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
8. Remove the yummy muffins from the oven allowing them to cool off for roughly 5 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Decorate with Orange Icing. I purchased the icing ready-to-go from JoAnn Fabric. It was already in the tube and was really easy to use. I also decorated with various Halloween theme sprinkles.

 While these are an amazing cupcake to serve at any Halloween party, they are also good for Thanksgiving, too! By changing up the decorations (ie – remove the spooky paper liners) they’d make a great Thanksgiving dessert.

However you choose to enjoy them, these cakes are SUPER fun and SUPER tasty.