Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I made these in advance of Halloween a couple of weeks ago. Our lovely neighbors invited us over for dinner and so I thought a festive, pumpkiny cupcake would be a nice, sweet treat following the meal.

And I got to use my awesome Halloween platter which I love so much!

Aren't they sweet?

These cupcakes were super duper easy (mainly because I adapted a box cake mix), moist and topped with a spice cream cheese frosting...perhaps one of my most favorite things in life.

I know it's a bit past Halloween, but with the craziness of the last week or so, I'm just getting around to sharing these now. I think they would be delicious on a Thanksgiving table, or even for a fall weekend treat!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

for the cupcakes:

1 box spice cake mix

1 15oz can pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/3 C canola oil

1/3 C water

for the frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 C unsalted butter, softened

3-4 C confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cupcakes, mix the cake mix, pumpkin puree, eggs, oil and water in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer for 30 seconds on low speed. Up the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners and distribute batter among the cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Once cooled, make the frosting.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Add one cup of sugar at a time and beat until thoroughly combined (Note: use 3 or 4 cups depending on desired taste and consistency). Mix in the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Frost cupcakes and top with sprinkles or decoration of choice.

Voila!

Delicious, autumnal cupcakes. I heart them.

And to prove it, I ate a lot of them. Baby TAA was nevery happier. It's my mission to ensure that she shares my love of all things pumpkin.

So there you have it. One of my favorite pumpkiny treats this season!

What is your favorite treat of the season?

Apple Sharlotka (or Apple Upside Down Cake...You're Welcome)

Last night I had some weird dreams.

I have heard that pregnant women get unusually bizarre dreams, but to be honest, I typically sleep like the dead and so I {foolishly} didn't really think that would happen to me.

Last night I dreamed that I gave birth in a pitch-black hospital room with just a nurse with me (no Shaun, no other family members), and I waited a full 12 hours before calling anyone (including my husband) to tell them the news. Then I left the hospital to walk down the street for a pumpkin spice latte. I should mention that was without the baby in tow.

So yeah. I was a little freaked out.

You know, if you consider that kind of thing weird.

Maybe American Horror Story is just too much for me to handle this season? I think I was having a flashback to season 1.

Anyway.

I woke up to a sun-shining, gorgeous fall day and I was craving something sweet for breakfast...namely this A-mazing apple upside down cake that I just can't get out of my head.

You see, I made this cake a few weeks ago when I received my Secret Recipe Club assignment for October. When I wandered over to simply.food to pick out a recipe, one dish sounded more exotic and more delicious than the next. Since I was going through my crazy apple phase earlier this month, when I stumbled upon the Apple Sharlotka (or Russian Apple Cake...or Apple Upside Down Cake!!!), I knew it was written in the stars.

What, you've never met your destiny with a baked good before?

This cake was so so good. Is it too bold to say that it's one of my favorite recipes ever?

Because it really is. Not only for the taste, but for how easy this cake was. It came together in a snap. Glorious, sugar-coated apples atop a moist, cinnamony cake and doused with a healthy helping of powdered sugar for good measure...there's not much better in life than that my friends.

Apple Sharlotka (Apple Upside Down Cake)

*Adapted from simply.food

1 large granny smith apple, peeled and cored (but not chopped!)

1 tsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 C self-rising flour

1 C granulated sugar

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened + more for greasing pan

4 Tbsp canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Confectioners’ sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the apple and remove the core; but keep apple in tact. Slice the apple into thin rings and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice and set aside.

Grease a 9-inch round baking pan with butter and set aside.

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream together the butter, granulated sugar and oil. Mix in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.

Stir in the flour and cinnamon until just combined.

Lay the apple rings on the bottom of the baking pan. Top with brown sugar. Pour cake batter over the apples and smooth with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the pan and flip out onto a wire rack or cutting board to continue cooling. The carmelized apples should be on top, looking regal and heavenly. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

*Note: I pour a tablespoon of confectioners sugar into a sieve and use that to prettily sprinkle the sugar over the cake. It looks like snow :)

 Slice it up.

Eat lots. 

Maybe share with a friend. Or keep it for yourself. I won't tell.

I'll be thinking of this cake all day.

And tonight, let's all pray for good and happy dreams. Like apple upside down cake and Adam Levine (with both arms attached).

Fudgy Cookie Dough Brownies

Though last week I was pontificating about my #whitegirlproblems and the extreme, sticky, swampy heat, today is more than making up for it. It feels like autumn perfection outside today without a single cloud in the sky! Bring on the pumpkin spice lattes and burgundy jeans! I'm rocking my maternity version today :)

So I need to tell you about these brownies. I made them a couple of weeks ago for a birthday party and I was thrilled to see that they were gone in minutes. They are fudgy. They are indulgent. They aren't for those with a weak heart without a major sweet tooth.

I must confess, though - it took me a couple of tries to get the cookie dough just right. I had made cookie dough Rice Krispies treats back in August and the cookie dough was way too floury and not the kind of dough I would want to be licking off of a wooden spoon. After all, that is the barometer on which I'm measuring a successful cookie dough...If I don't want to lick the batter bowl clean, then it's just not worth it.

Luckily I found a swoon-worthy cookie dough to top off the brownies. They came together in a snap and I will definitely be making these again and again. Oh! And I highly recommend serving these chilled. It keeps the cookie dough firm and in tact and all around delicious to boot. 

Fudgy Cookie Dough Brownies

1 batch of brownies, prepared according to box mix directions

2 C all-purpose flour

1 C butter, softened

¾ C granulated sugar

¾ C packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

After your brownies are prepared (I used a low fat mix that I had in my pantry; any kind you like will work! Use a fudgy kind for more fudgy brownie base!), leave them in your 13x9" pan and place in the refrigerator to chill (this makes cookie dough spreading much easier).

In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 

{Carefully!} spread the cookie dough mixture over the brownies. Chill to let the cookie dough firm up; then slice and serve. 

*Note: This is like a full batch of cookie dough. If you prefer less cookie dough on your brownies, you can halve the recipe. But um...who prefers less cookie dough?

So that's my new dessert obsession of late. I hope you give these a try! They really were super duper easy and such a crowd pleaser! Have a great Monday everyone!

Do you eat cookie dough batter out of the bowl? Um yup! Usually! I have definitely missed dipping into uncooked batters and doughs since being pregnant though :)

What are you loving today?