pumpkin cupcakes

there is so much hype surrounding martha stewart that i almost didn't believe her recipes could be that great.  i love it when i am wrong

start by whisking together flour, baking soda, baking powder,
coarse salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice

get 2 sticks of butter

melt in microwave and let cool

in a large bowl combine sugars, eggs, and cooled butter

 just whisk together 

add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth

grab yourself a can of pumpkin

dump the whole thing in

whisk until combined

fill lined muffin tins about halfway and bake for 20-25 min

cool on wire rack and get started on your frosting

this frosting is 2:1 (instead of the usual 1:1) cream cheese to butter ratio

make sure they are room temperature and beat until light and fluffy

add 2 cups confectioners sugar, some cinnamon and nutmeg, and beat

lazy girl's icing technique:  just stick the cooled cupcake in and give it a little twist

there might be a little spot like this when you lift it out

but you can just smooth it over with a spatula. 

take a bite

... with your razor sharp t-rex teeth

the great thing about this cupcake batter is that you only need 1 tool - a whisk.  

simplicity is so underrated.

pumpkin cupcakes

ingredients

2 cups flour

1tsp baking soda

1tsp baking powder

1tsp coarse salt

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

method

in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.  set aside

in a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs.  add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.  whisk in pumpkin puree.

line muffin tin and fill cups about halfway.  

bake at 350 for 20 to 25 min.  

this made exactly 2 dozen moist, delicious, cupcakes for me.  i did not alter the recipe at all.  

if it ain't broke...

however, martha didn't provide a frosting recipe for these so i made my own:

extra cream cheesy frosting

ingredients

2 8-oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

method

beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy

add remaining ingredients and beat well

wasn't that easy?  most cream cheese frostings call for a 1:1 cream cheese to butter ratio, but for this i did 2:1.  i think the extra cream cheesiness complements the cupcakes and spices quite well.