Moist Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Super-moist, spiced, and lightly sweet pumpkin cupcakes with the most decadent maple cream cheese frosting. This is something every pumpkin lover should try this fall! Topped with chopped, crunchy Heath pieces for an outta this world flavor!

This is my all time favorite pumpkin cupcakes recipe. Hands down. All the time. The best part about this recipe? These cupcakes totally double as muffins if you leave out the maple cream cheese frosting – although, who would wanna leave it out? Not me.

What makes my pumpkin cupcakes recipe stand out from the rest is how incredibly moist each cupcake really is. Not to toot my own horn or anything. But, toot toot! And it’s jam packed with pumpkin and lots of fall spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. And my absolute most favorite part – the maple cream cheese frosting. It is by far the BEST frosting i’ve ever, ever had! Not only is it the ideal frosting for pumpkin cupcakes, it would also be delicious on a red velvet cake too.

Let’s get down to business here and talk about why this pumpkin cupcake recipe rocks my socks (and hopefully rocks yours, too)

–    There is no need for a mixer! Hallelujah! That means, you absolutely do not have to make the pumpkin cupcake batter in the mixing bowl and then quickly rinse it to make the
frosting. Boo! That’s never fun.
–    The one whopping cup of pumpkin puree, along with the oil, and 2 eggs ensures that our pumpkin cupcakes are going to be anything but dry!
–    The fat used in this recipe is customizable: use melted butter, canola oil, or vegetable oil. My oil of choice? Definitely coconut oil.
–     Use your favorite toppings inside the pumpkin cupcakes – I added 1/4 cup of coconut flakes, because I ❤ coconut flakes in my cupcakes/muffin recipes. See here for proof. If
you’re a chocolate chip fan, stick them in these cupcakes, you won’t be sorry you did. White chocolate, dark chocolate or milk – all three would be yummy with pumpkin. Peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts, pecans, or even raisins, or dried cranberries are other great options. Try all of them, it’s just another excuse to have these pumpkin cupcakes. Not that you need one. I ask no questions when cupcakes are involved.

We’re going to sift our dry ingredients into 1 bowl and whisk our wet ingredients in another. The wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, a couple of eggs, coconut oil (or whatever kind of oil you prefer), granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk it together until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until *just combined*. The secret to super-moist pumpkin cupcakes (or muffins) is to make sure you *just combine* the batter without overmixing. Nothing, and I mean nothing is as bad as a tough pumpkin muffin. It’s 2 thumbs down for sure. *Pout*. Sad face.

These pumpkin cupcakes are perfect all on there own too. No need to top with them maple cream cheese frosting if you want a more figure friendly option. Their perfectly moist and are the ideal pumpkin muffins to serve for breakfast or brunch.

Let’s talk maple cream cheese frosting:

I wouldn’t top these pumpkin cupcakes with anything but this maple cream cheese frosting. I just wouldn’t. But if maple syrup is just not your thing then top them with cinnamon cream cheese frosting (check the notes section in the recipe card).

I combined 6 ounces of cream cheese + 3 tablespoons salted butter +2 tablespoons maple syrup + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract + 2 cups confectioners sugar. That’s it! This frosting is sweet but not too sweet, which is perfect because i’m not trying to put anyone in a sugar coma. The crash from one of those is badddd.

This recipe for pumpkin cupcakes is a master recipe to use for all sorts of pumpkin cupcakes and muffins! The possibilities are endless! I topped my cupcakes with some chopped Heath bars.

Other combinations that would be delicious:

1. milk chocolate chips inside the batter + snickers bars chopped on top
2. peanut butter chips inside + snickers bar on top
3. butterscotch chips inside + twix bars chopped on top
4. white chocolate chips inside + butterscotch chips on top
5. coconut flakes inside + heath candy bars chopped on top
6. pecans chopped inside + heath candy bars chopped on top

I would LOVE to hear what you end up creating!

Happy baking!

Moist Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 2 votes

Super-moist, spiced, and lightly sweet pumpkin cupcakes with the most decadent maple cream cheese frosting. This is something every pumpkin lover should try this fall! Topped with chopped, crunchy Heath pieces for an outta this world flavor!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 10 -12 cupcakes

Author: Little Spice Jar

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

For the pumpkin cupcakes (muffins):

• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup oil use canola, vegetable, or coconut
• ▢ 2 large eggs at room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup pumpkin purée not pie filling
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes optional*
• ▢ 1/2 cup 2 - 1.4 ounce bars coarsely chopped Heath bars (optional)*

For the maple cream cheese frosting*:

• ▢ 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 3 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
• ▢ 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 cups confectioners powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions 

For the pumpkin cupcakes:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray and line with paper liners. Set aise.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add the flour mixture and the coconut flakes and stir until *just combined*. Do not overmix.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine took exactly 22 minutes. Cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

For the maple cream cheese frosting:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Turn the mixer to low and add in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. using a small spatula or a piping tip, frost the cupcakes. Top with coarsely chopped heath bar pieces.

Notes

• The topping possibilities for these pumpkin cupcakes are limitless. Try some of these others ones if you're not a fan of coconut flakes:
  - milk chocolate chips inside the batter + snickers bars chopped on top
  - peanut butter chips inside + snickers bar on top
  - butterscotch chips inside + twix bars chopped on top
  - white chocolate chips inside + butterscotch chips on top
  - pecans chopped inside + heath candy bars chopped on top
  You can also try: raisins, dried cranberries, pecans, and walnuts!
• If you're not a fan of maple syrup, try cinnamon cream cheese frosting:
  Omit the maple syrup and sift together 1 teaspoon cinnamon with the powdered sugar; follow recipe above.
• Recipe slightly adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Foolproof Cookbook

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