Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 125 g cream cheese, room temp
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 1/4 cups icing sugar (or more as needed)
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350.
• 2 line muffin pan with paper liners.
• 3 in a small bowl, mix together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• 4 in a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil and eggs until smooth. add pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla. beat well.
• 5 slowly add flour mixture, beating until smooth.
• 6 scoop batter into prepared muffin pan. bake in preheated oven for 22-27 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
• 7 let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.
• 8 removes cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on rack.
• 9 to make frosting: in a bowl, using and electric mixer on low speed, beat together cream cheese, butter and salt until creamy.
• 10 add sugar a little at a time, beating until combined.
• 11 increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy.
• 12 if you would like stiffer or sweeter frosting you can add more sugar at this stage 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached.
• 13 if you would like spicy frosting add the 1 teaspoon of pie spice to the mixture and beat just until evenly distributed. optionally you can use it to dust the tops of the frosted cupcakes.
• 14 pipe or spoon frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes.