Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (Mini Fall Cupcakes)

Course Cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword mini-fall-cupcakes, mini-pumpkin-cupcakes-recipe, pumpkin-spice-cupcakes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings servings (may vary)

Calories 66kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini cupcake pans with mini cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, use a whisk to sift together cake mix, flour, pudding mix and light brown sugar.
To the bowl add pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat on until fully combined around 2 minutes.
Using a small scoop or a teaspoon, fill each mini muffin cup about 2/3 full.
Place into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean.
Cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely
Once cooled, frost the tops with Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Icing or classic Cream Cheese Frosting. Garnish the tops of the cupcakes with toffee bits.
Store mini pumpkin spice cupcakes chilled for up to 5 days.

Why add flour? The amount of product in a box of cake mix these days seems to be shrinking regularly. When I first developed this recipe, cake mixes were a standard 16.25 ounce. Due to the "shrinkage" of cake mixes I add additional dry ingredients to accommodate. It adds volume and stabilizes the batter.

The pumpkin needed for this recipe is canned 100% pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling. You can find it on the baking aisle of most grocery stores year-round.

Substitutions: Instant vanilla pudding lends a beautiful flavor and texture to the pumpkin cupcakes. You could use instant cheesecake pudding mix instead.

Variations: You could add 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the cupcake batter. The nuts should be finely chopped, since these are mini cupcakes.