Pumpkin Pie Poptart Cupcakes

One year ago I hit submit and published my first post on Spoonful of Flour. Naturally I shared a pumpkin recipe- those Pumpkin Spice Donuts continue to be one of my favorite recipes, as well as one of  the most popular posts on my blog.  At the time, I knew very little about blogging, social media and food photography. Sometimes I still don't think I know very much. But I love to bake and created this blog as a creative outlet for my hobby. 102 posts later, thank you for reading and following along with my kitchen adventures!

For today's post, I thought I would go back and recreate one of the first recipes I made for my blog. I was so excited to share these Pumpkin Pie Poptart Cupcakes last fall- aren't they cute? I  took one of my favorite vanilla cupcake recipes and added some warm fall spices to the batter. I then dipped the cupcakes in glaze, waited for the glaze to set, and then topped them with a simple pumpkin buttercream. Finally I added a piece of pumpkin pie poptart to the top of each cupcake- the best part! Seriously, the pumpkin pie poptarts are amazing- try looking for them at your local Target or Walmart. Hope you enjoy this recipe from deep down in my blog archives!

Pumpkin Pie Poptart Cupcakes
Cupcake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart, Frosting recipe adapted from this recipe and this recipe from Your Cup of Cake
Yield: 24 Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the Glaze:
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp hot water

For the Frosting:
2 sticks butter, unsalted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp pumpkin

Pumpkin Pie Poptarts for decoration

For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground ginger. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combine and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Glaze:
Combined the powdered sugar and water in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until glaze reaches your desired consistency. Dip cooled cupcakes into the glaze mixture.

For the Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the spices and vanilla, continuing to mix until incorporated.

Slowly add the powdered sugar until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Finally add the pumpkin and continue to mix until combined. If frosting becomes too thin at this point, add more powdered sugar.

Frost cooled cupcakes and add Poptarts for decoration.