Pumpkin cupcakes! Perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful season!
Pumpkin Cupcakes recipe found here: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pumpkin-cupcakes/
P.S. I hope One-Pie never changes their can label. I love the nostalgia it evokes and choose it over Libby’s every time because of it!
Filed under: cream cheese, cupcakes, Dessert, Fall, frosting, pumpkin | Leave a comment »
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!
This is probably my favorite holiday. I have wonderful childhood memories of this holiday, some of which I have discussed on the blog in years past.
This year the pumpkin cupcakes made a reappearance, this time with Smitten’s Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. No fancy decorating, just plain and delicious.
If you are looking for some other last minute ideas, check out these festive baked goods from past years!
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Silver Peanut butter Frosting
Mini Chocolate and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes (and Halloween cupcake decorating ideas)
Mandarin Orange and Pomegranate Tart
Rich Chocolate Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
Enjoy!!!!!
Filed under: cream cheese, cupcakes, Dessert, Fall, pumpkin | 1 Comment »
I tend to become very sappy when it comes to first birthdays. My nephews turned me into puddles on each of their birthdays (Clown Cake, Fire Engine Cake, Monkey Cake). And now it’s time to be nostalgic all over again on an even more personal level because today is the one year anniversary of my daughter being born, also known as, her first birthday. Yup. I know, I can’t believe it either. *holding back a little sniffle*
She captures my heart over and over and over with her sweet face, sparkling eyes, and scrunchy-nosed smile. She has gone from a squishy little mammal that needed to be sustained (one year ago) to a delightful, charismatic, tiny person (today). She blows us kisses (“mmmmmmmmmmahhh!”), climbs into the dishwasher, opens and empties all of our drawers and cabinets, giggles uncontrollably when we tickle her belly, shows us which book she’d like to read then crawls into our lap, unfolds all of our laundry, and dances with her head. She claps when she hears an applause from the television set, holds her arms up like a waitress and scrunches her shoulders when someone walks out of the room (“Where’d he go?”), and stands up in her highchair during every meal.
Being her mom is the best gift I have ever been given.
I love that she was born during my favorite season because it gives me another very big reason to love this time of year more than any other.
So I’m continuing the cupcake frenzy with another batch, this time in honor of my little pumpkin. (Her birthday cake has not been made yet!) I used this recipe for pumpkin cupcakes from Smitten Kitchen. I found the texture to be fantastic–very light, moist, and crumbly. These are definitely cakes as opposed to pumpkin bread baked in a cupcake tin. I topped them with the requisite cream cheese frosting. A great treat for a celebration of the season and of my girl.
Filed under: cupcakes, Dessert, Fall, frosting, pumpkin | 12 Comments »
I am very late in sharing with you these little bites of heaven! I made them for a Halloween potluck luncheon and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. The cakes are very puffy and fluffy. The filling is light and sweet. The pumpkin gives the filling an orange tint. (If you want to be especially festive you could add a few drops each of yellow and red food coloring to enhance the orange/black contrast!) These were great for Halloween, but I think they are a very nice fall treat in general. They would certainly add some spunk to a traditional Thanksgiving table. (Minus the eyeballs, of course!)
I love packaging treats individually these days! I just can’t get enough of it! Not only does it look super cute, but I find people enjoy slipping a treat into their pocket or purse for later–especially after a heavy meal.
Here are some other treats I have wrapped individually:
Better than Brownie Cookie Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Pink Frosting and Sprinkles
Mini Chocolate and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:
Cakes
Filling
Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.
Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whip until smooth
Spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies.
Filed under: cake, chocolate, cookies, cream cheese, Dessert, Fall, frosting, pumpkin | 6 Comments »
My friend hosted a costume Halloween Party and I couldn’t have been more excited! I love getting dressed up and it is so much fun to see how creative others can be with their costumes. I wanted to bring a little treat so I made Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes. Each one was like a bite of perfectly moist pumpkin bread! (Don’t forget to keep an eye on mini cupcakes while they are in the oven–even just one little minute too long and they can end up dry. They bake much faster than full-sized cupcakes.)
I decide to top them with chocolate frosting, but I think that many types of frosting would pair well:
My friend went above and beyond and served the cutest most creative cupcakes at her party. I just have to share photos with you:
Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Use a mixer to cream together butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after adding each.
In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternating with the milk. Mix until combined. Stir in the pumpkin and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Line cupcake tin with papers and fill three quarters of the way to the top with batter. Bake 10-14 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then finish cooling on rack. When cupcakes are completely cool, top with your frosting of choice.
Adapted from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.
Filed under: cupcakes, Dessert, Fall, frosting, pumpkin | 11 Comments »
Kitchenbelle 