I know it’s December, and December is the month for all things mint chocolate, but I can’t help but share these pumpkin cupcakes with you guys. I made these for thanksgiving this year and they were a hit!
I’ve never made mini cupcakes before, but I found some cute Thanksgiving mini cupcake liners at Michael’s a few months back, and decided what better cupcakes to make for these than pumpkin ones? And let me tell ya, these babies are GOOD.
I was afraid the cupcakes were going to be slightly on the drier side because of their smaller size, but the pumpkin spiced cream cheese filling kept the cupcakes nice and moist. Every single bite is filled with cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y, pumpkin-y goodness…. oooh yeah, my mouth waters just thinking about them. Good thing this this recipe yielded almost 40 cupcakes, because the other dessert I initially had planned failed miserably (sigh. maybe I’ll try it again some other time). I don’t think anyone (i.e. Brian) minded only having one dessert since these cupcakes were so good and there were so many to go around.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini cupcake pan with cupcakes liners and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, make the filling first by beating the cream cheese, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice on medium speed until light and fluffy. Transfer to a large Ziploc bag. Snip off a small portion of a corner and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugars, vegetable oil, and eggs. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stir until just combined.
- Scoop small spoonfuls of the batter into the bottom of the cupcake wells, covering about 1/4 of the well (or just enough to where it covers the bottom). Squeeze small dollops (~1/4 teaspoon) of the cream cheese filling mixture into each well. Top with remaining batter to completely cover the filling, making sure each well is only about 2/3 full. Bake for 13-14 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wired cooling rack.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting: using an electric mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium~medium high speed until light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to low and add the milk, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until combined, then increase speed back up to medium and beat for another 2-3 minutes.
- Using an offset spatula or your favorite frosting tip, pipe frosting onto cupcakes and serve immediately. Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
- Makes 35 mini cupcakes
I’m usually not a fan of eating cream cheese in its regular form (i.e. the mushy form), but I actually really liked the filling – maybe because I figured if I shoved the entire cupcake in my mouth, all the flavors and textures would play out harmoniously in my mouth and I wouldn’t be able to concentrate so much on the mushy cream cheese. And sure enough, it worked, because I’ll definitely be making these again sometime soon.
Hey, nobody ever said pumpkin desserts are only for the fall!
Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious
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