Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

The Perfect Taste for Fall

The Good:  I made these for my co-workers when I worked at the hospital and they were gone quickly.

The Bad: Fall only comes once a year!

The Ugly:  Crystallized ginger is extremely expensive unless you find the right store.

Suggestions before starting:
I like to "seal" cakes and cupcakes with a thin layer of icing while it is still warm to keep in the moisture.  As you can see in the picture, I was a little impatient when I went back to finish icing them so the icing became a bit runny and not so pretty.

If you don't already have ginger, cinnamon or ground cloves and are wondering if this recipe would be worth buying those spices, check out our Chai Tea recipe.  All three of this spices are in both recipes and are delicious!

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes from All Recipes

Recipe Total Time: 40 minutes +/- 10 minutes of piddle time
Recipe Yields 24 cupcakes
Preheat Oven: 350 degrees

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
  
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

Icing:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Spices, flour, pudding...

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. 
2. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a bowl; set aside.
3. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Oven ready