With fall arriving, and in many parts of the world already here, I started thinking about updating pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin cupcakes (remember, I like sweets!) and muffins came to mind. But many of the ones I have had in the past were dense or rather plain. Why aren’t they more like carrot cake, the best of which are packed with yummy tidbits like pecans, coconut flakes, and pineapple bites? Then it hit me—I could make pumpkin cupcakes and muffins with those same add-ins! So I set off to experiment.
One of my favorite carrot cake recipes came from my mother-in-law, so I decided to start with it and make some changes to account for the added pumpkin. The original recipe called for vegetable oil. I decided to use butter (who doesn’t like butter?) instead and cut it by two-thirds to allow for the added moisture from the pumpkin. I also decided to add some nutmeg and allspice in addition to the cinnamon to give it more of a pumpkin pie flavor.
I started by making some regular muffins. It worked!
They turned out moist and yummy with the added benefit that I had reduced the fat considerably relative to the wonderful carrot cake that my mother-in-law always made. My husband, Jeff, doesn’t like pumpkin but he loves carrot cake and decided to try them. To my surprise, he actually liked them!
I decided to make some miniature versions too using a mini-muffin tin. Then I iced them with cream cheese icing, which is a tradition for their cousin, the carrot cake. Besides, cream cheese icing makes everything better!
Then I decided some added decoration would make these perfect for Thanksgiving or Halloween, so I added some orange sugar.
Then I sprinkled them with some bats, ghosts, and pumpkin sprinkles to give them the perfect Halloween touch.
Try them and let me know what you think. Whether you serve them as muffins for breakfast or frosted cupcakes for dessert, who knew that what started out as a recipe for carrot cake could turn out to make the best pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin muffins!
© 2014 FoodieOasis
