Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting
Boo!
The countdown to Halloween is on around here.
Lulu has tracked down all of the parts of her WordGirl costume, including her massive vocabulary. As she walked into the kitchen with a broken crayon yesterday, she remarked pitifully, “Mama, I’m crestfallen.” You are also five and I don’t know what that means. Fetch Mommy the dictionary.
Gigi, per the usual, has managed to find complete joy in the most basic of things, like her cowgirl “costume.” By her own selection, she’ll be sporting cowboy boots that she wears to school almost daily, a plaid button-up that she frequently wore to school last year, a jean skirt that hits church nearly every Sunday and a flimsy cowboy hat from Target. Bless her heart, she couldn’t be happier!
Or “more exultant,” according to Lulu.
I’m getting in the spirit, stocking up with a variety of candy this year, rather than raisins and toothbrushes. I don’t want that Angry Bird pumpkin and/or Taylor Swift silhouette jack o’ lantern that I will inevitably spend hours carving to end up smashed in the street prematurely. I’d like a nice green fuzz going on those babies before they meet their demise.
Plus, we’ll sneak a few treats from the bowl ourselves. And we’re all stocked up on new toothbrushes right now, thank you very much.
Once we’ve gone through all the Twix and Reeses that we can stealthily sneak out of the girls’ hauls, I’ve got another few treats up my sleeve.
Spicy, moist pumpkin cupcakes with a thick, creamy frosting.
Booyah.
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes
***View Nutrition Facts***
For the cupcakes:
- 1/2 c. sucanat or stevia baking blend or organic sugar
- 1/4 c. vegan margarine (i.e. Earth Balance) or organic butter, melted
- 2 T. molasses
- 3/4 c. canned pumpkin
- 1/2 c. applesauce or non-dairy or organic yogurt
- 1/4 c. non-dairy or organic milk
- 1 c. whole wheat pastry or all purpose or all purpose gluten-free flour
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 3/4 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 t. ginger
- 1/2 t. salt
For the frosting:
- 1 c. (8 oz.) non-dairy or organic cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 c. vegan margarine (i.e. Earth Balance) or organic butter, softened
- 1 t. freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 c. powdered sugar
garnishes: black piping icing, eyeball balls, etc.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a muffin pan with liners. Set aside.
Using an electric or stand mixer, beat together sucanat or stevia and margarine or butter. Beat until fluffy add the molasses, pumpkin, applesauce or yogurt and milk and mix to incorporate.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture gradually, mixing well.
Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to cool completely on wire racks before frosting.
For the frosting, using an electric or stand mixer, beat cream cheese and margarine or butter until light and fluffy. Add nutmeg and powdered sugar until a smooth frosting forms.
Spread over cooled cupcakes and garnish as desired.
(To make spider webs, pipe three circles on top of each cupcake in a “bull’s-eye” pattern. Drag a toothpick from the center bull’s-eye to the edge of the cupcake, pulling the black frosting through to form a web. Continue around the cupcake, as desired.)
I made a very similar (non-vegan) version of these this past weekend for a party! Such a big hit. I could eat that cream cheese by the spoonful. NOT THAT I DID OR ANYTHINGG
Yeah, me neither. Especially not from the fridge with graham crackers five minutes ago.
Oh those eyeballs – I love how you decorated these cupcakes! I think half the fun of holiday treats is how they look and these certainly look adorable!
Gross and adorable! Just how my kiddos like it.
Resisting the urge to feign illness at work so I can race home and make these. Gigi and Ryan are on the same page for Halloween costumes this year. He is going to be a race car driver. For the 3rd year in a row. With the same exact costume. Pretty sure the pant legs are up around his knees by now. Heart you as always.
MISS you as always. Come trick or treating down here!
Oh, if given the choice, I’d definitely eat up these cupcakes over a candy bar. I love all those spices, and really like the idea of adding nutmeg to the icing. Yum!
I love nutmeg. I might want to grate it into my mouth.
Hahaha! I had the strangest nutmeg addiction for about three months! I put it in everything!
So…these look delicious, but we had a party over the weekend, and I made your Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread as cupcakes and slapped some cream cheese icing on top, and they were soooo good! And a huge hit with my gluten-free pals. Also, my costume for the party was basically like Gigi’s. I may or may not own cowboy boots and a cowboy hat that are worn far more frequently than any 30-year-old woman should admit.
Nice. I should have just saved myself a lot of work
Cheap costumes are the best. I am going to be an athlete this year. Ok so really it’s just me in my workout gear and bright green kneesocks. “Costume” done!
Perfect!
Too cute! I love the spider web design.. stealing that for an upcoming party
xo
Do it.
yay! it is 1:30 san diego time and i am still in my pajamas, having spent the entire morning cooking vegan snacks and treats to put in the fridge and the freezer for the week…the last thing my “to do” list reads is “bake something pumpkin-y,” but i had no recipe yet…sat down at the computer to search for something delectable…”funny” how even the silliest things turn up for me “unexpectedly” when i am delighting in life! back to the kitchen to turn that “to do” list into a “done” list!
Hope these turn out great for you! And I wouldn’t even bother getting dressed at this point
secretly one of the reasons i started homeschooling 11 years ago was so that we could all stay in our pajamas as long as we wanted! it definitely works for us!
Every story you tell about Lulu makes me love her more and more and in turn makes me love YOU more and more (and more) because you are her mama. I’m crestfallen that we are not next door neighbors.
Her word of today is “irked.” And frankly, the you-living-in-Colorado thing has me totally irked.
Love these! Perfect for my Bible study get-together Friday night! Though mine won’t be decorated like yours — maybe a candy corn on top if I’m lucky!
Hope they are a hit, candy corn or not!
Okay here goes:
1. I have to thank you again for your pumpkin scone recipe. I brought it to my mother’s group on Monday and got you some new fans.
2. Ditto on Mmmm sauce. Made it yesterday after far too long of a break.
3. I’m carving a spiderman pumpkin face this weekend. Which is arguably easier than Taylor Swift. good luck with that.
4. Have you seen this post?
http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2012/10/the-inconvenient-truth-about-your.html
It’s thought provoking and in line with Seven, which, incidentally, was a life changing book for me too. I had never, ever considered ethics when choosing my halloween candy.
1. You’re welcome!
2. Ditto.
3. I’m just going to slap a blond curly wig on my pumpkin and call it good.
4. Hadn’t seen that! Back to the raisins and toothbrushes, I guess
thanks for sharing this michelle, living a life set firmly on a foundation of integrity and ethics is sometimes a LOT of work (i am endlessly searching out WHERE things are made and by WHOM? are people and/or resources being mistreated in the process?) but at a cellular level i am rich with the knowledge that my intentional life is only ADDING to the world, not taking anything away…this morning i taught my daughter a native people’s philosophy of being and doing on this planet with 7 generations in mind…how is what i am doing today going to affect people 7 generations from now?…there may also be an added physical and financial expense to living that way, but i believe in the long run, it will save the world money and time to live purely, honestly, kindly, thoughtfully, and intentionally…living in the world as if it is already the ideal place i hope it someday becomes is a huge blessing in my life! my favorite book that i did not add to sarah’s reading list post is THE COMPASSIONATE UNIVERSE…i give it as a gift often…look it up if you have time, it is an easy read, i’ve read it 5 times and cried at the end each time! it definitely calls the reader to a new level of awareness regarding how they are moving in the world and it constantly propels me to be a better version of me! i’m so glad you included that link in your post…i’m off to look up pumpkin scones on the site!
These are adorable!! And so perfect for Halloween!
I really love that the frosting is made with nutmeg. Simple and smart. I still haven’t made a pumpkin anything yet! These guys may be my first project for my friend’s birthday, which happens to be on Halloween.
1. if i was still a kid i would totally be wordgirl. I use to have an obnoxiously large vocabulary that has disappeared since i switched Russian literature for blogs:):) At least blogs have way better recipes!!
2. I am so happy that its finally dropping into the 60s at night which means it pumpkin season!!!!!! I have already made myself a pumpkin spice latte everyday for the past week and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that the fiancé and I ate in a day:):) Now its time for muffins and of course, pie!!
i am crestfallen that those cupcakes are not in my house at this moment…
I am crestfallen there are only two left.
These look fantastic! Pumpkin and spice fanatic! Have been making smoothies with them for weeks now. And thank you for introducing us to Wordgirl! My 3yr old daughter is “delighted” with it, and I am always excited to find a children’s show that I like for her and for me.
Oh good! Yes, I wanted to go as Captain Huggyface, but my family vetoed that idea.
I just did a baking project today for a post I’m working on and made white choc cream cheese frosting but now your Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting sounds even better
It always comes back to frosting for me.
Adorably spooky cupcakes that look so moist!
These sound delush and i just bought a pumpkin to bake, its meant to be! Do you think I could use oat flour or almond flour with these? I’m trying to go gluten free with my son, but haven’t used the gluten free flour, instead I’ve been using oat, almond or coconut flours. Also, could I make these into bars?
I would use all oat flour or 1/2 oat flour, 1/2 almond flour. If you go the almond flour route, I’d just bake them a bit longer. Good luck!
WordGirl is such an adorable costume idea! And Gigi making a costume out of things already in her closet?! A girl after my own heart!
Looks great! I’m not crazy about soy cream cheese, had it plain on a bagel once, but maybe with all the sugar it will be better!
Now I just have to find some eyeballs….
These are so so cute! About that green pumpkin fuzz… I was the one that eventually had to take our pumpkins down to our complex’s garbage bins, and I think there was more fuzz than there was pumpkin. YUCK! I’m very pleased to report that my Angry Birds pumpkin has been out on the doorstep for a full week and is still 1) in tact, and 2) fuzz-free. Hoping it will make it till the 31st!
You mentioned your dentist the other day… I wonder if he sees an unusually large spike in revenue in the weeks following Halloween? If this nutmeg frosting makes its way into my house, my dentist will likely be seeing more of me!
Awww, I thought my Angry Birds idea was so original!
i need a blanket of that frosting – and apparently a dictionary as well
Well, I love me some cream cheese icing and I seem to be addicted to all things pumpkin right now, so these bad boys are right up my alley. Can’t wait to bake up a batch for a party we’re going to on Saturday. I’m thinking candy corn would make a good topper because I’ve been seeing it all over the web lately and I’ve yet to buy a bag!
I only eat candy corn WITH peanuts. It’s a rule.
It’s like you read my mind (or somehow read my last “search” in your recipe section!) because I was JUST looking for a cupcake recipe! ‘Tis the season around my house for multiple birthdays and Halloween parties so I wanted something creative, indulgent and just a little bit healthier. As Emeril would say “Bam!” these fit the bill perfectly! I’ll just turn the cupcake tops/frosting into some kind of pink-a-licious like substance for the bdays and call it a day! You rock!
Wonderful! I hope you and your girls love them, Maria!
I am crestfallen that I can’t have one of these cupcakes for breakfast right now.
Can’t wait to see the girls in their costumes (should you choose to share).
I made your Monster Cookies for my office back when you posted the recipe. People keep asking me to make them again – HUGE hit over here. I need to figure out how to sub in that baking blend into more recipes!
The girls are outta control cute in their costumes. (I’m sure every parent says that). So glad the cookies were a hit!
Molasses, pumpkin and spice? Sounds delicious! Although that frosting really caught my eye–making brownies for an office Halloween party, and that frosting would really kick them up a notch (plus I could dye it orange for extra Halloween fun!)
Totally! And I love your hair, by the way!
I’ve never used freshmen grated nutmeg, sad to say :/ just the jarred stuff. I can’t wait to make these, especially now that I know how to make those adorable webs!
Alexis, are you on a smart phone? Darn you, autocorrect
Guilty!! I laughed when I saw that
Just discovered your blog through another chain of comments and am thrilled to have found it! These cupcakes look especially enticing. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I smiled all through this post
I love hearing stories about Lulu and Gigi – they truly seem like very special, smart, and adorable girls. You’re such a great mama! The cupcakes look so delicious; I really love seasonal flavors. And the decorations are so cute! I love the spiderwebs – very creative.
Thank you! I smiled all through this comment
This recipe looks fantastic! I love that you’re including nutrition facts with your recipes lately too, by the way. Thank you!
My pleasure!
These look delicious!
One question: How in the WORLD do you get your muffins/cupcakes to NOT stick to the paper? I can’t get mine to peel away clean…ever
I don’t do this, but you could spray them with cooking spray before putting the batter in. I’m just gentle when I take them off!
Delicious! The icing designs are so creative – an who could pass up a pumpkin cupcake!
Always on the lookout for pumpkin related recipes because I LOVE pumpkin! Even though I am a personal trainer, I think I can go ahead and make these without telling my clients.
Thanks for sharing!
Yum! Does the treat fairy still hit up your house the day after Halloween? I just love that idea
We’ll have to see how much candy they rake in. She may make an impromptu visit.
I just tried making these with AP gluten-free flour (Bobs) and they didn’t turn out – they were really liquidy before they went in the oven & they didn’t firm up, even after 40 mins in the oven. Should I have increased the amt of flour?
Hmmm, that’s strange, I’ve made them with BRM flour before & they were great. Maybe omit the milk next time?