Lets just start off by saying Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year. I’m so blessed to have so many wonderful opportunities, family members (especially those extended family members and extremely close friends!), a boyfriend who is beyond fantastic, health, those who follow my dream of being a photographer and support it, among so many other things (in no particular order)!
I wanted to do something nice for those of you who take the time out of your day to follow and support me as an artist as sort of a Thanksgiving gift! It’s no surprise for most, who know me personally, that over the last month and a half I’ve been a baking machine. I’ve tested out multiple recipes, making Joe give me the final thumbs up or thumbs down for each recipe, and found one that is perfect for Thanksgiving day. I’d love to share this recipe with everyone as my way of saying thank you and giving back!
(This recipe makes more than 24 cupcakes, so you may need to cut it in half)
You’ll need the following items!
Also, preheat your oven to 350ºF!
Line the muffin pan. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a medium bowl and set it aside.
Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Making sure your butter is at room temp is key, or it will not aerate and change color to a lighter brown. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate fully. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Do only about a cup or two at a time. Place the batter into a gallon ziploc baggie, snipping the edge slightly. Begin squeezing the batter into the muffin pans until they are about 1/2 to 3/4 full!
Bake until golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack.
There are so many frosting recipes out there, but I seriously recommend something with a cream cheese base! I used Wilton’s 1M star tip along with a decorating bag to decorate the tops of my cupcakes! Then added a nice multi colored sprinkle to finish it off.
Here are some pictures!!
Haley Frost 