Pumpkin Cupcakes
How fun are these Pumpkin Cupcakes? And talk about delicious?? Well, let’s just say that these are the tastiest cupcakes I’ve come across in a while as well as the cutest!
These are dense and moist cupcakes with all the wonderful seasonal spices (think cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice) you can think of. The buttercream is a cream cheese-based cinnamon frosting. And the tiny pumpkins are just adorable little peanut-butter buckeyes. So easy to make, but the effect is so fabulous for these cupcakes.
Go ahead and give these a whirl…they are sure to delight!
Begin making these cuties by mixing all of the dry ingredients in one bowl, mixing all the wet ingredients in another and then combining them together.
Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling only 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream by mixing the room temperature butter and cream cheese together. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and fill a large piping bag that’s been fitted with a tip of your choosing with the frosting. If it’s going to be a while before you use it, you should keep it in the refrigerator for a firmer consistency (you might have to let it sit for about 10 minutes prior to using).
To make the adorable mini pumpkins, combine peanut butter and softened butter. Then add the powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. The consistency of the batter should be like Play-doh…very moldable.
Scoop out little balls of the batter (I used a 1/2-tablespoon scoop) and roll the batter into balls. With a toothpick, start at the top of the ball and rock the toothpick down to form an indentation. I kept the ball in my hand and just turned it to make lines all around it. Then dip the balls into cinnamon sugar to get the right color. Finally, place a mini chocolate chip on the top for the stem. Refrigerate the mini pumpkins so that they are firm when applying to the top of the cupcake.
To assemble, pipe frosting onto the top of the cooled cupcakes, sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on the top and then press a mini pumpkin into the frosting.
It’s best to store any leftover cupcakes in the fridge but I will be surprised if there are leftovers! These are delicious!
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Pumpkin Cupcakes
Makes: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 18 minutes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes:
- 1 & 1/2 cups (195g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 & 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (108g) vegetable oil
- 1 & 1/2 cups (345g) pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, room temp
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 4 cups (450g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Mini Pumpkins:
- 1/2 cup (125g) creamy peanut butter
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar + 2–3 tbsp as needed
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Pumpkin Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, and pumpkin, followed by the vanilla and eggs. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
Divide the batter between the liners, filling each about 2/3 full (you may have a little bit of batter left over). I like using a large cookie scoop for this step as it makes the process quick and clean. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Using a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, followed by the cinnamon and vanilla. Store the frosting in the refrigerator until you’re ready to frost. It will thicken as it chills.
Mini Pumpkins (optional):
In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and butter (this can be done by hand or with an electric mixer). Mix in the powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice, followed by the vanilla. It should be the consistency of play-doh and easy to roll into a ball. If it’s too thin, mix in one tablespoon of extra powdered sugar at a time until you reach the right consistency.
In a side dish, mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
Scoop out 1/2 tbsp of dough and roll it into a ball. Use a toothpick to press ridges all around the ball, then roll in the cinnamon sugar.
Press a mini chocolate chip on top to finish off the pumpkin. Store the pumpkins in the refrigerator until you’re ready to decorate.
Assemble:
When the cupcakes have completely cooled, fill a large piping bag with the frosting. It can be fitted with any shape tip you prefer. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and press a pumpkin on top. Keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. Enjoy!
Recipe from Butternut Bakery Blog
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