Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

This is really a fall recipe, but as we're having some cool summer days up here in Maine, I hope you'll forgive me. The truth is that pumpkin is great pretty much any time of the year, and pumpkin in baked goods tends to keep them from being too dry, even after a few days. Plus, they're dang pretty.


Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
via here, slightly adapted

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (soft)
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (8 0z--not quite a whole can) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 cups flour (the original recipe recommends cake flour, but they were great with all-purpose)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup buttermilk*

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can use 1/2 cup of regular milk mixed with 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, and you have buttermilk! Check out other buttermilk substitutions here.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with muffin papers.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light in color. If you're doing this by hand, it might take a little while.
3. Beat the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl.
4. Mix egg mixture with butter mixture a splash at a time, incorporating completely into the butter before adding more.
5. Add pumpkin and blend.
6. Whisk all dry ingredients together. (That's the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.)
7. Add dry ingredients and buttermilk alternatively to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.
8. Fill the liners with batter. You should be able to make 24 cupcakes with this recipe, or fewer if you want them to be larger.
9. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
10. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Icing

• 7 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup of maple syrup*
• slightly less than a cup of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

*Depending on the kind of maple syrup you're using, you might end up with thicker or runnier icing. If your icing is too runny, you can add more confectioner's sugar. In that case, you might want to cut the sweetness with a few drops of lemon juice. Alternatively, you can call the icing a "glaze" instead, and then it is totally acceptable for it to be runny.

1. Mix butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
   
2. Add maple syrup and sugar, and mix well.

Happy baking!