The Blogger's Back!

I'm back! After a long hiatus while I switched jobs (I now work for the government and I LOVE it!), I am back to the blog. All of you faithful followers can thank my good friend Beth for bringing me back into baking mode. She emailed me last week and asked if I wanted to maybe come over and bake with her. Ummm, you'd like to give me an excuse to bake AND hang out? Yes please!


So off to the cupcakes...


Look at this beauties! This photo is substantially better than my usual cell phone quality pics that I post, thanks to Beth and her amazing camera/photographer skills. We're hoping allrecipes.com chooses this pic for the main recipe photo, so keep an eye out for it! We decided to go with a fall theme, and it actually worked out really well as the temperature was hovering around 45 degrees tonight when I got to Beth's place. I just LOVE pumpkin anything this time of year! It's so warm and cozy, and always makes your house smell so nice. We went with a Pumpkin Spice Cupcake recipe with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting from allrecipes.com. They turned out really well, but Beth and I agreed that the consistency was more that of a muffin. They were pretty tasty none the less :) If you're looking for a good recipe to get you in that warm, cozy autumn mood, this is a great option!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes: 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree **

**some folks wrote comments in that they used pumpkin pie mix instead, and that it turned out great. Also, some used an entire 15 oz can of pumpkin, and that it make for a very moist cake. If I were to make it again, I'd probably do that.**

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  

DIRECTIONS
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Sift together the flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

Beat 1/2 cup of butter, the white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Stir in the milk and pumpkin puree after the last egg**. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

**Me again. I wasn't a fan of how the part above was written out. We mixed in the pumpkin after adding the eggs, then alternated the milk with the flour in 3 parts. It's just how I roll, seems like it would mix more evenly and not be too dense that way**

Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting by beating the cream cheese and 1/4 butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; beat until fluffy. Once the cupcakes are cool, frost with the cream cheese icing

They really were so delish. So delish that I ate one and didn't dare bring any home. Big thanks to Beth's husband Justin for bringing them to his office tomorrow!

I'm thinking of branching out from cupcakes as well, and telling you of my other culinary adventures (mostly just baking, though). Hopefully Beth and I will have more to blog about in the coming weeks. I made a PIE this past weekend! Yes...PIE!! Homemade crust and all! So keep an eye out for future blogs, and don't hold it against me if it's not always cupcakes. ;) Variety is the spice of life or something like that...right?!