Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Butter Icing

    I had some pureed pumpkin left in the fridge from Halloween and I wanted to bake with it. So yesterday after her non-nap, Kyleigh and I baked cupcakes! I can't remember the last time I made cupcakes... ::pauses to think:: I don't know that I have ever made cupcakes before. If I did it was only once and quite a long time ago. Anyway, we made Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Butter Icing. Woo hoo! These are sin-sational! Absolutely irresistible! Scrumptious! Divine! You can't have just one! Believe me, I tried. I had to take a lot of pictures of the girls to keep my hands from grabbing another one. :)

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Butter Icing

3 c. flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 c. sugar

1 3/4 c. pumpkin puree

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. butter, melted

5 eggs

Maple Butter Icing

6 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp maple extract

1/3 c. milk

1/2 c. butter, melted

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin pans with paper cups.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spices. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, butter and eggs. Using a whisk, mix well. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture.

Stir just until the everything is incorporated.

Divide evenly among the lined cups, filling about two-thirds of the way. (I used a quarter-cup measuring cup and rubber spatula to help keep it even.) Bake for 15-20 minutes; until a toothpick, or knife, comes clean out of the center of the cakes. Turn cupcakes out to wire racks to cool.

While the cupcakes are baking, it's time to make the icing!

Start with three cups of the powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Add in the extract, milk, butter, nutmeg and cinnamon. To get it smooth, I like using a whisk (yes, again). Add an additional one cup of powdered sugar at a time until you get the consistency you like. I had to use six cups to get me desired consistency. 

Wait until the cupcakes are cooled completely, then ice away! And as always, enjoy!

My little helper.

We topped ours with Halloween sprinkles.

Betcha can't have just one!