June 29, 2007, Newsletter Issue #324: Pumpkin Cupcakes

Tip of the Week

Cupcakes...

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin

Cream Cheese Frosting...

3 cups powdered sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Yellow and red food coloring
Pretzel nuggets (stems)
Green gumdrops (leaves)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set the mixture aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the oil and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir the mixture until well combined. Stir the pumpkin into the batter until it is thoroughly combined. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of one cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, make the Cream Cheese Frosting. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, and lemon juice until smooth. Add about 12 drops of yellow food coloring and 4 drops of red food coloring and beat until the frosting turns orange.

Frost each cupcake, then drag a butter knife from top to bottom to resemble ridges. Use pretzel nuggets for the pumpkin stems and cut flattened green gumdrops into leaves. Makes 12 cupcakes.


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