Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

All week I have been taunting you with my pumpkin spice cupcakes… It wasn’t very nice, and I’m sorry. But, I think they are worth the wait!

The thing is, I have been working up to the completed cupcakes all week long. They were a combination of a few components, and if I had thrown everything at you at once, it would have been too much! Pretty soon I will have you thanking me for making you wait all week for a cupcake recipe… See how this works?

I’ve already shared the details of the fall themed cookies topping the cupcakes that I decorated for the September Daring Bakers challenge.  I think decorated cookies make the perfect decorations for cupcakes, though they can be a bit of work!  If you caught yesterday’s Works For Me Wednesday post, you have also seen my recipe for the cinnamon brown sugar frosting.  So, the only thing that’s left is the cupcake itself!

Since I had just finished decorating all of the mini pumpkin and leaf cookies, I knew I wanted a cupcake that embraced and added to the fall theme that I had going on.  I flipped through a few cookbooks and stumbled across the spice cake recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I was just about ready to settle in and follow the recipe (hard to believe), when I remembered all of the lovely pumpkin puree I have on hand. So, with a few adaptations and additions (brown sugar, cardamom, and pumpkin… my favorites!), I wound up with these lovely pumpkin spice cupcakes.  They baked up beautifully, and the house smelled fantastic… Definitely a new fall favorite for me!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

(Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, makes about 2 dozen)

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • Cinnamon Brown Sugar Frosting (optional)
  • Mini Sugar Cookies (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line two 12-cup standard size muffin pans with paper cups and set aside.

Beat together the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until fully incorporated. Add in the vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl – flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.  Whisk together to remove any lumps.  In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the pumpkin puree and buttermilk until smooth.

While mixing on the lowest setting, alternately add the dry ingredients and the pumpkin mixture to the creamed butter and brown sugar, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Continue to mix until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, filling the cups approximately 2/3 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes are cool, top with the cinnamon brown sugar frosting and a mini sugar cookie.  (I used my usual frosting method, but went for a round tip instead of the star tip this time around.)

45 comments

  1. Jen, do you deliver or ship? Because now all I can think about are these cupcakes.

  2. Tracy says:

    I love pumpkin cupcakes! These are so cute with the decorated cookies on top. :-)

  3. JenniferA says:

    I could definitely eat one of those right now for breakfast!

  4. Not only do these look delicious, they are beautiful too! Absolutely beautiful. Who was the lucky recipient of these cupcakes? I’m jealous :)

  5. yum! wow these look so good. I’ve been craving my chai cupcakes again, but now I think I’ll try these instead. Love the decorating job :)

  6. They look gorgeous, the decorated sugar cookies were the perfect topper for them!

  7. megan says:

    Oh yum! Pumpkin, a cupcake and a cookie all in one? I’ll be right over! They are beautiful!

  8. Eliana says:

    WOW component of these beauties looks absolutely perfect. And I have no words for the finished product. Well, I do – I wish I was enjoying a couple of these like right now.

  9. Roxan says:

    A cupcake topped with a cookie and tons of frosting? That’s my kind of cupcake!

  10. Looks great! I’m loving all the pumpkin and Fall recipes :)

  11. I can attest, these cupcakes are AMAZING. I’m staying with Jen and her husband for the week and these cupcakes were “like eating a slice of fall!” haha

  12. Chris says:

    I love these! They look like a special something we would all love to receive! And pumpkin? nom nom nom!

  13. LimeCake says:

    i wish i could reach into my screen and grab one of those delicious looking cupcakes! brown butter… yum…

  14. Joy says:

    Very Very cute!

  15. Eva says:

    They are so pretty!!! And pumpkin cupcakes sound amazing, I’m definitely going to have to give these a try :)

  16. These do look worth the wait. With those beautiful cookies on top, they look like a work of art!

  17. Shannon abdollmohammadi says:

    Wow! Those are darling! Congrats on making tip 9!

  18. Shannon says:

    Beautiful and look delicious.

  19. Ohh, that’s right. Halloween is coming right up. I’m in Sweden for the moment and people don’t really celebrate Halloween here, but I think it is time for me to introduce it and put on a big party. With pumpkin spice cupcakes of course.

  20. wow, oh. so delicious. I’m pretty new to this halloween thing (I’m from Sweden and we don’t really celebrate it over here). It’s nice to get some inspiration and recipes, thank you for sharing!

  21. Pumpkin spice cupcakes – how seasonally delicious! You are turning into quite the master baker Jen!

  22. I love these cupcakes! They look like something you would see in a magazine!

  23. You are getting so dang good at decorating cookies! They look absolutely darling on top of those delicious cupcakes!

  24. Not only do these cupcakes sound delish – but those iced sugar cookies on top make the presentation just perfect. Love fall & these cupcakes are just so happy :)

  25. Rose Gold says:

    I love pumpkin cookies but I am sick whenever I taste the same of it. Your recipe will be a great pleasure for me to try. Thanks for sharing this. The cinnamon and sugar frosting is really great! I can’t wait to try your recipe this weekend.

  26. Jane says:

    These are just too cute for words. Really adorable! You did such a lovely job making these.

  27. BigFatBaker says:

    OMGOSH! I’ve been looking for a pumpkin cupcake recipe to try. This looks like a winner. You’re frosting looks so good and fluffy. Can’t wait to try these!!!!

  28. Beverly says:

    Sounds delicious and decorations are very cute.

  29. Ashley says:

    I made these last week and decorated them for Halloween for my toddler. Can I just say these are AMAZING? They are so light and fluffy and perfectly pumpkin-y. Thank you for this recipe!

  30. These cupcakes were a hit at my office. Thank you for posting the recipe!

  31. Kristin says:

    This recipe looked so good that I made them for a birthday party this past weekend. They were a HUGE hit! That frosting is so yummy, too.

  32. Those are so cute. I will surprise my kids with these cupcakes. Lol. Thanks for the recipe. The frosting looks delicious.

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