So I was robbed by my migraine of my usually holiday fun. Each year, the day after Thanksgiving I frantically clean and put out all of the non-tree stuff. Then the next night we play music, make hot chocolate and once again remember that we said we would buy new lights and new hooks, but never do. One year we put the lights on and didn’t check them. So once the whole tree was decorated and we lighted it up….we learned that the middle strand of lights was considerably dimmer than the other strands….oh well. I would love to say that I reclaimed my holiday spirit and made these cupcakes, but truth be told I made these last week when the radio was playing Christmas music a FULL week before Thanksgiving. I’m still not fully recovered but I am starting to feel more festive 🙂
This recipe comes from one of my newer cookbooks, Buttercup Bakes at Home. I tagged this cupcake right away and had an image in my mind of topping them with mini gingerbread men(why must I make everything so complicated?). The cupcake itself had me worried, not much flavor. But after making the frosting it was clear that the cupcake needed to be a little bland since the frosting has quite a bit of flavor. You most definitely need the frosting or these cupcakes simply wont be worth it. These are with out a doubt holiday in a cupcake…gingerbread and pumpkin…come on! The mini gingerbread men aren’t necessary but I thought it made the cupcakes that more festive.
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP light, unsulfured molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on the medium speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the molasses and vanilla.
Spoon the batter into the cups about 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
makes 24 cupcake….I got 12
Icing:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 TBSP finely grated orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin puree on medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the spices, zest and vanilla extract and mix well. Gradually add the sugar and beat until desired consistency. Refrigerate for 1 hour, Remove from refriferator 5-10 minutes before using. Spread on the tops of the completely cooled cupcakes.
Helen says
Sorry to hear the cupcakes were not up to par but the gingerbread men surely make up for it. Terribly cute!
Glad to hear the migraine is going away. I hate when that happens!
Ellie says
Too too cute – the smiley gingerbread man made me giggle 🙂 Hope that nasty migrane goes away soon and lets you recover for the next coming holiday season!
Brilynn says
I think those gingerbread men are absolutely necessary… those are awesome.
rachel says
These little guys are too cute! You know, I find any thing I’ve made from either of the Buttercup books to be oddly bland.
Alicat says
Those are so spectacular Peabody — I’m so glad your migraine is finally gone. I hate it when fun comes to a screetching halt while we deal with our stupid headaches 😉
Jeff says
Oh man…I’ve been jonesin’ for gingerbread for a couple weeks now!
Lisa says
Two of my favorite flavors! Yum =) Glad to hear you are starting to feel better and getting into the holiday spirit! I’m trying to get there too. Hubbs put up the outside lights this weekend – and didn’t test the strings until after he climbed the ladder and crawled around on the roof hanging them either.. yeah every other strand wasn’t working, so now he’s gotta go back up and replace them. hehe I’m glad we’re having decent weather here! 😀
Lauren says
I think you more than made up for anything lacking in the cupcake with that little gingerbread man.
Sara says
Glad to hear you are feeling better. Adorable cupcakes!
Tanna says
Fi on migrains!
Hooray for Gingerbread men on mini pumpkins (even just in icing)!!!
Abby says
So pretty and glossy! It looks like seven-minute frosting right off the stove. What makes yours so shiny?
I love the cookie decoration. Clever.
acaligurl says
i love pumpkin, that looks divine!!
jasmine says
This looks wonderful…I’m having a Shrek moment…
j
Joanne says
I was going to make these tonight but I noticed the cupcake recipe is not complete. How much butter do you need in the cupcakes?
Thanks!
Amy says
The gingerbread man is adorable! What recipe did you use? Mine come out so dark!
Joanne says
I made these on Friday and they were really yummy. When I tried a plain cupcake I also thought they were a little plain. When I made the frosting I tried it and thought it had a really strong orange flavor. Once I put the two together they were awesome. The flavors really blend together nicely. Thanks for the recipe!
Erin says
Hi! First off I adore your blog! It’s in my Google Reader (I only follow 3 food blogs). I wanted to make this pumpkin cream cheese frosting for some cupcakes. I noticed the recipe calls for 8oz cream cheese frosting. Did you really mean cream cheese FROSTING, like Duncin Hines store bought frosting, or did you mean 8 oz of cream cheese? I saw you also called for powdered sugar, like a regular frosting recipe, so I assume you meant cream cheese. Thanks so much, and I will be sure to post a link to the cupcakes I made using your frosting recipe!