Oregon Transplant: Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Thanksgiving might be over, but pumpkin season runs right through December in this house!

Is that true for anyone else? I remember as a kid my mom always made a pumpkin pie for Christmas, as well as Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I associate pumpkin pie with the whole holiday season. I know some people see pumpkin pie as a Thanksgiving or fall recipe, and therefore put away anything pumpkin by December. If you are one of those people, tuck this recipe away in your back pocket for next fall. If you aren't one of those people, well, break out the pumpkin and let's do this!

I first tried this recipe back in 2012, when the hubby and I were visiting Oregon for an entire month. I had thought the recipe was a dud after they had come out of the oven and cooled for a bit. I remember picking one up, starting to peel the wrapper off, and the whole darn thing falling apart. I was so disappointed. I threw them in the fridge as a last ditch effort, and voila! Saved the batch. Turns out the chilling part of the recipe is super-duper important. It cannot be skipped. Just a word to the wise, make these a day ahead of time.

The recipe worked exactly like it did last time. These cupcakes are more like portable custards that form a thin crust around themselves. They come out of the oven all puffy, but almost immediately, begin to sink a little bit in the middle. Some of my cupcakes sink a whole lot. Some not so much. Either way, sunken or not, they are delicious! They taste exactly like pumpkin pie filling. A dollop of whipped cream on top, and you are set. These would be perfect for people who don't like crust. I'm not one of those people (the butter! the flakiness! the wonder!), but my brother always was, so I know these crust-haters exist.

The original recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree, but I still had a little bit of homemade in the freezer that needed to be used.

Now that I'm officially a pie aficionado (self-proclaimed, of course), I'm amazed at how the filling changes color after baking. The same thing happened with my pecan pie. The filling on my pecan pie (after mixing) was almost cream colored, and I always remembered pecan pie filling being very dark brown. It made me nervous at first, but everything came out just fine. Same with the pumpkin batter. I thought the color was off, but the cupcakes came out of the oven the exact right color.

I had these fun, autumn cupcake liners leftover from last year, so I thought, why not?

A tip for easy cupcake pan filling- put the batter in something that pours! I used to make a huge mess spooning cupcake batter into my pan. Batter everywhere. Not this time. This worked especially well this time, since the batter for these cupcakes is relatively thin.

The cupcakes falling a bit... Don't worry, this normal.

What is this, you ask? Oh, just one of the hubby's many gadgets. Only he could think making whipped cream in the KitchenAid stand mixer takes too long. LOL. With this gadget, all he has to do is place heavy cream, a little powered sugar, and a few drops of vanilla in the chamber, affix a CO2 cartridge to the top, and away he goes. Whipped cream in seconds.

I'm still ok with the stand mixer, but oh man, does the hubby ever love this gadget. And, I have to admit, I do love the fancy designs it makes. Almost as much as I love these cupcakes :-)

Well friends, I survived my day in Ashland yesterday. It was a long day that included getting lost once. I don't know how I've managed to get lost in rural Kentucky (more than a few times), but some of these backroads, they all look the same. You don't even know you've taken a wrong turn for 10 minutes, and then you start to go, 'What the heck?'. I even have a GPS and a smartphone. How does this happen? I swear...

I did get my Christmas decor for the year, though. The hubby and I are gradually building our holiday decorations, and part of that process includes adding a few items every year. It's promising to be a sunny day here, so I'm hoping to get some pictures of our holiday decor. I thought it would be fun to put together a holiday decor post for the weekend. Probably not this weekend, because tomorrow is a family baby shower that I am making a slideshow for, baking 3 dozen mini cheesecakes, and doing the event pictures. Whew.

It's going to be a busy weekend! Have a great one everyone!

Ingredients (makes 12 cupcakes):

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup half-n-half

garnish- whipped cream, pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and half-n-half. Whisk vigorously until well combined and smooth. Using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients. Continue to fold in, until all the dry ingredients are mixed in. Move batter into a liquid pouring cup.
4. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Place cupcake pan in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate pan, and bake for another 10. Remove from oven, and allow cupcakes to cool in pan for about 1 hour. Cupcakes will be puffy when you first remove them from the oven, but they will sink a little bit in the middle as they cool. Place cupcake pan in the fridge, and chill until time to serve (at least 4 hours or overnight for best results). Top cupcakes with whipped cream and a shake of pumpkin pie spice. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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