Pumpkin Cupcakes

Happy Halloween from Starting to Simmer!



Photo: John Kernick


I thought I'd share my recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes that I got from Real Simple last year. It literally is real simple. Here we go...

Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix (plus ingredients required on the back of the box
1 can of pumpkin puree (Trader Joe's organic pumpkin puree is my favorite)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice



Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: Add the pumpkin pie spice and substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions. Then just follow the rest of the instructions on the box for bake time/temp, and voila pumpkin cupcakes! They turn out a soft orange color but you can always add a little food coloring if you want it to be bolder.

I suggest using either cream cheese or vanilla frosting. Candy corn is a quick and easy decorating option, spiderweb cupcakes are also very easy to make. Just use brown or black decorating icing to draw three concentric circles on the cupcake, then either drag a knife or toothpick out towards the edge of the cupcake to make a spider web effect. You could use gummy spiders or those little spider rings that are always around at Halloween to make them look even better.



photo: mccormick.com

If you ever want to get real creative with your cupcakes go out and grab Hello, Cupcake! or Whats New, Cupcake? they have really cute creative ideas for cupcake decorating for tons of different occasions.