Happy Halloween Cupcakes

Good morning everyone and Happy Halloween!

First and foremost, I hope my readers that have and had been affected by Hurricane Sandy is safe and well. I had just come back from Disney and the Bahamas, where Hurricane Sandy was swiftly approaching as of the end of last week. After our visit to the Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT, my husband and I took a cruise with Royal Caribbean and had an amazing first time experience cruising and visit to Paradise Island and New Providence, despite the weather. The hurricane was in Jamaica when we were cruising, but our ship, the Monarch of the Seas, was easily able to avoid the Hurricane's path. We made it safely back to Port Canaveral earlier than expected. I'll review my cruise later on this week.

As far as Hurricane Sandy in my area, we fortunately did not lose any power, though most individuals and towns around lost power. Our town, because we are right on the bay, suffered from heavy flooding and damage due to fallen poles and trees. Power is slowly being restored in the neighboring areas and our town; however, most businesses are closed including banks, restaurants and shops. The post office is open and one of my banks. I was able to do some last minute grocery shopping yesterday in order to bake some homemade cupcakes.

Below is the recipe I followed for my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. The recipe is adapted from this recipe on Taste of Home. These cupcakes are so delicious and moist, you will love them. In fact, everyone in your family will be begging you for the recipe!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2-1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup buttermilk (substitute: 1 cup of milk with one tsp of vineagar)
• FROSTING:
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin. Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers.
• Yield: 2 dozen.

I created three variations of the same type of cupcake. With the first, I wanted to create a pumpkin patch using candy pumpkins (those that have the same taste as candy corn) and honey mini wheats (you could also use the large wheat cereal). With the second variation I decorated the cupcakes with sugared sprinkles and mickey-shaped sprinkles and for the third variation I used black sugar sprinkles and candy corn.

I love candy corn! It is so addicting and one of my favorite fall treats! My favorite Halloween candies are Reese's Fast Break, Three Musketeers and Take 5. What are your favorites? Are you doing anything special this Halloween?