Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

by Jennifer // October 26, 2020 // 2419 Comments

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It feels funny to write about pumpkin cupcakes as I sit here shivering in my wool socks and slippers, wrapped in a blanket, injecting my 3rd cup of hot coffee into my body because it is 14 degrees outside and there are several inches of snow on the ground. For the record, it is October 26th and Denver just experienced the lowest temperature on record in the past 100 years last night. I think it’s going back up into the 60s by the end of the week, to a more seasonal temperature during which pumpkin spice cupcakes seem more appropriate. (Just to clarify, the snow will not actually stop me from eating the leftover pumpkin cupcake that’s in my fridge later today, but I tend to *prefer* when the flavor profiles I’m eating match the season outside).

I made these cupcakes for my sister-in-law’s baby shower, which was supposed to be yesterday until a cold and wet forecast made the idea of an outdoor, COVID-friendly shower impossible. It was a fantastic call to move the baby shower up by a day, or else we would have been squealing over baby blankets and eating charcuterie in the snow. Despite a little breeze, the day of the shower was 60 and sunny and it was a lovely day to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my baby niece (face masks and all).

These Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting are definitely one of my new favorites. While I usually lean toward chocolaty desserts, I honestly can’t get enough of these. The pumpkin cupcakes are made with pumpkin pie spice, and they’re perfectly moist due to the addition of a little more pumpkin puree than most pumpkin cupcake recipes call for. The cream cheese frosting is one of my all-time favorites, and the cinnamon swirls pair perfectly with the pumpkin-spiced cake bottoms. On top of each one sits Trader Joe’s Petite Pumpkin Spice Cookie. These cookies are not only an adorable garnish (I mean…look how cute they are), but they are literally one of the best little shortbread cookies I’ve ever had.

So, if you are able to locate a can of pumpkin (there’s been a real shortage these days), I urge you to make these Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting to celebrate the fact that it’s probably still Autumn where you are.