Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Have you ever seen that meme on social media that says, “My worst nightmare is marrying into a family that runs 5Ks on holidays for fun?” Well I am that unfortunate person who that actually happened to. About four and a half years ago when I was going into my junior year of college, I showed up to my boyfriend’s house ready to go to the beach in a few days. We were sitting around the table with his family when his mom looked at me and said, “Are you ready to run tomorrow?” Surprise – I was no ready to run!

Needless to say, the poor girl who had never run more than a mile in her life struggled through the 5K the next morning, humidity and all. Did I mention it was the 4th of July weekend? I may have resented my boyfriend for the next few months, but I’ve run more 5Ks in the past 4 1/2 years than I thought I ever would in my life so I guess I’m some what grateful that this crazy family has now introduced me to a lifestyle of self-inflicted suffering. Kidding! I’ll be a successful runner someday or so I keep telling myself.

Now, onto the real star of the show… Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting! No fall is ever complete without a few dozen batches of these spiced little cupcakes coming out of my kitchen. Any time I have a work event, friends get together, or just feel like spending my Saturday in the kitchen, these are usually on the list. One thing that I love about them is that although I always do pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, there are so many different ways you can decorate to show off their deliciousness!

You can top them with cinnamon sugar…

You can give them a simple rose topping with some festive fun sprinkles…

Or you can pile the icing on high and put in everyone’s favorite fall topper: marshmallow pumpkins!

Whatever way you decide to serve them up this fall, they make an easy addition to any get-together (or eat them all yourself, I won’t tell!) You can make the pumpkin batter in one bowl and the cream cheese frosting is one of the easiest to whip up! There are just two key things to watch: don’t over-mix your batter and don’t let your cream cheese get too soft! When letting your cream cheese come to room temperature, you can end up with shapeless frosting if there’s not enough structure to your cream cheese! Stick to the basics and don’t add any extra liquid like cream or milk – cream cheese is plenty soft for your frosting.

Give the recipe a try – and watch as everyone asks you for the recipe right after their first bite!