Pumpkin Biscoff Cupcakes

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It's astounding that it's already November and we only have one pumpkin post to show for ourselves. Quite frankly, I'm a little disappointed in us.

This post is a first step in rectifying that egregious lapse in pumpkin coverage.

Confession: I am one of those Pumpkin People. You know the people I'm talking about. The people who, starting October 1st (or, let's be honest, early September) go pumpkin crazy. PSL's, pumpkin M&M's, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin Oreo's, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin scented soap, pumpkin flavored toothpaste... (ok, so that last one might not be real). Everything that can be pumpkin-ized will be pumpkin-ized.

That's why it's so galling to realize how negligent I've been of pumpkin so far this season. Aside from these cupcakes, the only pumpkin recipe I've baked are the pumpkin whoopie pies I first made last year that became an instant favorite among my baked good adoring public (by which I mean my friends at school). 

Owls are my spirit animal, so I am loving these owl themed cupcake holders. Adorbs!

I didn't post about them because I'd already done a post on them last year. But I kind of want to because if you take the time to go look at that old post, you'll see that my food photography has come a looooooong way since last October. The pictures in that post do not do the whoopie pies justice. In fact, they may even do them a disservice. It's pretty sad, folks. They deserve better. They deserve glamour shots, the Vogue treatment, not badly lit photobooth quality head-shots.

I guess I'll just have to make them again. Shucks.

Luckily the pumpkin season is still young. We have plenty of time and plenty of cans of pumpkin ahead of us before we need to say goodbye to pumpkin for another year. Let's make the most of them. These cupcakes are a great place to start.

The heart and soul of these cupcakes is one of the best pumpkin cake recipes I've ever tried. And as you might guess, being one of the Pumpkin People, I've tried more than my fair share. The pumpkin flavor is rich, the cinnamon and nutmeg adding an appropriate amount of sultriness. The cake is surprisingly dense for being so soft and moist. It's probably one of the sturdiest cakes I've ever made, but it makes no compromises on moistness (and thank goodness; what good is a non-moist cupcake??). Is that weird to say about a cake, that it's sturdy? It is, though. Bake them and you'll know what I mean. If you don't care what I mean...bake them anyway.

Have you baked with biscoff before? It was the It thing in the baking world a while back. Biscoff (or cookie butter, as it's sometimes known here in the United States) was everywhere - in cookies, cakes, frostings, cake balls, pancakes, quick breads...there was no escaping it. And, I mean, trends don't become trends for no reason. The stuff is Yummy with a capital Y. You'll probably want to eat it with a spoon, You'll definitely want to eat the frosting with a spoon.

Biscoff frosting makes for a quirky topping for these pumpkin cupcakes that compliments the pumpkin flavor without competing for attention. We don't need any attention-mongers here. This is pumpkin's moment to shine and we're just lucky to be able to bask in its warm glow.

To more pumpkin moments to come. May there be many.

- Molly

Pumpkin Biscoff Cupcakes

From Bakergirl

Cupcakes

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

Biscoff Frosting

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup Biscoff
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons cream (or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.

Whisk. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

Mix. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing until just incorporated.

Scoop & bake. Using a cookie scoop, fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake tests clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting, cream together the butter and cookie butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Add vanilla and one tablespoon of cream at a time; beat until light, fluffy, and desired consistency.

Frost it! Pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes.