Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

It's that time of year again.  Pumpkin time!  I love November because it's the time of year where you can make almost ANYTHING with pumpkin!

Last week I had to make a dessert for a large dinner I was helping with. I had to decide what to make that would make 48 servings.  I asked my friend what she thought I should make and she suggested Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.  What a great idea!  My husband hates pumpkin so it would be a perfect time to make them.

I happened to find this recipe from Betty Crocker.  And they looked delicious!


Prep Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 35 min
Servings: 24

(I doubled the recipe.)


Here's what you need:

1/2 c. finely chopped pecans
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 container cream cheese frosting (or you can make it homemade)

Steps:
1) Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan).
 
2) In heavy nonstick skillet, cook pecans and 2 tablespoons of the sugar over low heat about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted. Spoon and spread pecans onto sheet of waxed paper. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar; toss. (This step took me way longer than 8 minutes.  I finally turned up the heat to medium or even medium/high until the sugar finally started melting, then turned it back down.)
 
3)In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about two-thirds full).
4) Bake 19 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

5) Frost cupcakes with frosting. Sprinkle edge of frosted cupcakes with pecans; press lightly into frosting. Store loosely covered.


All done!  They were as delicious as they looked! (Sorry, the only pic I took was with my phone.)


Note to self:  Before attempting to make 4 dozen cupcakes, make sure you have more than one cupcake pan. It will save you time if you ever decide to do it again.

No comments:

Post a Comment