Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

The days are getting shorter. I can see the change happening gradually as the sun begins to set earlier and earlier every day. I'm craving pumpkin donuts and warm cozy blankets and embracing this fall as if it might be our last. Who knows where we'll end up for residency and if it's somewhere down south (finger crossed!) we might not have a fall again.

That's why I'm sharing my first pumpkin/fall recipe with you today. I couldn't wait any longer to break out the pumpkin! As we speak (or you read), there are five cans in my pantry just waiting for their debut.  

We had a birthday celebration recently for one of our friends and the prospect to bake something made me very excited! Oh to bake, to bake again. How I've missed my measuring cups and spoons. I searched through all my recent pins and dog-eared recipes (pinning is much easier than flipping through a magazine these days, who knew) and was overwhelmed with so many choices. Deprivation. I wanted to bake everything!

Then I remembered a day I was waiting in line to pay for groceries, flipping through Taste of Home's recent magazine of fall recipes. I wrote down the name of these cupcakes and suddenly I remembered them- light blub! I knew these would be perfect.

They are so moist and flavorful, practically melting in your mouth as you bite into one. And the frosting- I stuck my finger in the bowl as I was making it and felt my eyes go wide. The balance of spice and sweetness is spot on- delicious! Too bad it's not nutritious. :)

I tried to frost these with my fancy cupcake kit- piping bag and frosting tips, but it turns out baby girl isn't quite ready for me to devote entirely too much time in the kitchen. I had to settle for a plain old butter knife during one of her naps. Not that anyone cared. They were gone in minutes!

Source: Taste of Home
Servings: 2 dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup buttermilk

Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin. Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

3. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers.