Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Fall is here, hooray hooray! Of course, fall in Phoenix means it only heats up to 99° during the day. But the nights are wonderfully cool and I love thinking it's fall. Humor me, it's the best I can do living where I live.

Fall baking to me means all things pumpkin. I try to cram as much pumpkin into my baking between late September to the end of November as I possibly can without making myself sick. Well, I guess I am trying to make myself sick of pumpkin until next year.




Pumpkin Cupcakes
1 Duncan Hines Yellow cake mix
1 c solid pack pumpkin
4 eggs
1/3 c oil
1/2 c milk
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
1/8 t ground nutmeg
1/8 t ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners. Combine all ingredients in standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment and mix on medium high for 3 minutes. Divide evenly between cupcake pans.

Bake approximately 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Rotate pans half way through cooking time, if necessary. Remove cupcakes from pans to wire racks and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz butter, softened
2 lb powdered sugar
1 T vanilla extract

Whip all ingredients until very smooth.

Cookies and Creme Cupcakes

I made these this past weekend for DL White's birthday (hi DL!) These are so chocolatey and moist, they are a must have in every chocoholics recipe file.




Recipe ever so slightly adapted from Bakerella.

for the Cupcakes:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 c sugar
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla
3/4 c milk
3/4 c hot water
1 package Oreo cookies (not double-stuffed)

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners and place one whole Oreo in each.

In a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt on low. Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk and mix well until thoroughly combined. Add the hot water and mix on medium high speed for several minutes. Batter will be very liquid.

Transfer batter to a large measuring cup and then pour batter into each cupcake liner cup so that it is no more than three quarters full. Cookies will most likely float to the top but it's okay if they don't.

Bake in center of oven for 16-18 minutes. Rotate baking racks half-way through if needed. Let cool completely before frosting.

Yeild approximately 18-24 cupcakes.

for the Frosting:
2 c shortening
2 lb powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
1/4 c milk
20 Oreo cookies, filling removed and crushed

In stand mixer with whisk attached, beat the shortening until smooth. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add powdered sugar and milk in three additions, scraping down the sides after each.

Place crushed cookies in a shallow bowl. Mound frosting on each cupcake and roll top in crushed cookies until all frosting is covered.






Chef's Note: Bakerella suggested placing broken cookie bits in the bottom of the cupcakes but I really like the "wow" factor of biting into a cupcake and finding a whole Oreo.