Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

Yield: 12

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Pumpkin cupcakes topped with maple flavored cream cheese frosting and heath toffee bits.

Incredibly moist Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple and Toffee Frosting. You're going to love these award winning fall flavored cupcakes!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the Frosting:

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
4 ounce cream cheese, softened
¾ teaspoon maple flavoring
2 cups powdered sugar
½ cup Heath milk chocolate toffee bits

Instructions

In mixer, beat together pumpkin, sugars, applesauce and eggs. Blend in the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and seasonings.
Pour batter into cupcake tins (I used liners), dividing the batter evenly (fills 12).
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
To make frosting, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in maple and powdered sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes. Spread on cupcakes and sprinkle with toffee bits. Enjoy!

Notes

SOFTEN. Let your cream cheese and butter soften on the counter for about 10 minutes before making the frosting. This will make it much easier to beat together to get a showstopping fluffy buttercream texture.
The toffee bits are a fun addition but the cupcakes would still be delicious without them!
When filling the cupcake liners, make sure to fill them only about ⅔ of the way full. Any fuller than that and the cupcakes will "dome" on top (like muffin tops).
If you prefer not to use cupcake liners, you can also bake them right in the tin. Spray with cooking spray or lightly grease the tin before adding the batter.
Looking for an almost fat-free pumpkin cupcake? You could replace the maple cream cheese frosting with a dollop of fat free cool whip. Still good, but I highly recommend giving the frosting a try, at least once.
Spices- a combination of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg is used to season these cupcakes. You could swap those out for 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead.
Maple Flavoring- for the frosting. Maple flavoring and maple extract are different product. The flavoring is darker in color and more concentrated (and I prefer it too). If you can only find the extract, it will work, but note that the frosting may still retain a white color. DO NOT use maple syrup, as it is not concentrated enough to give maple flavor.
See the blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 310Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 344mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 1gSugar: 41gProtein: 3g

*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.