Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Day 8. These have been on my list of treats to make for a while. I love anything pumpkin and the minute it starts to get cooler I'm thinking about pumpkin cake, cookies and bread. These were made from the recipe at yourcupofcake.com. I made no changes and mine aren't as pretty as hers but they still taste pretty darned good. I'll definitely do them again.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Cake:

1 box yellow or white cake mix (you can use Spice mix and omit spices)

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

15 oz. pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/2 C. applesauce or oil

1/3 C. milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 C. sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 C. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 1/2 - 4 1/2 C. powdered sugar

Extra cinnamon and sugar for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

2. Sift cake mix, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon into a bowl an set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, milk and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in cake mix and spices.

5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

6. Place your melted butter in a small bowl.

7. Combine sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl.

8. Use a pastry brush to brush melted butter on the tops of your cupcakes (they can be cooled or nearly cooled), then roll the tops of the cupcakes into your cinnamon-sugar to get that "snickerdoodle" look.

9. Frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add 1 Tbsp. milk if it becomes too thick.

10. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkles extra cinnamon-sugar on top