Just in time for Halloween: Pumpkin Cupcakes

Happy Halloween!

 As promised previously, I played around with the recipe to make pumpkin cupcakes.

So, here it is, just in time for Halloween: Pumpkin Cupcakes (makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (though it never hurts to use more...mmm, cinnamon!)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp all-natural unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup clover honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp cream cheese*
• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

*I used 3 tbsp pumpkin spice cream cheese + 1 tbsp regular, but this should be done to taste. If you can't find pumpkin spice cream cheese at your grocery store, just using regular cream cheese is fine. If you really love pumpkin, only use pumpkin spice cheese.

Directions

cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cupcake pan was 12 baking cups.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in small mixing bowl.
3. Mix applesauce and honey, then add eggs and mix.
4. Add half of the dry mixture & water and mix until creamy. Then add the rest of the dry mixture and water and mix until creamy.
5. Add pumpkin 
6. Scoop the batter into each baking cup (thanks to the Georgetown Cupcake recipe, I discovered that an ice cream scoop works great for this! Way less mess).
7. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean.

frosting:

1. Mix butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until frosting is light and airy.

 I don't think I'm ever going to use regular frosting again if I can help it!