It seems I can’t get it together long enough to decorate the house in all things fall. My kitchen, however, is definitely not lacking any fall-ness. It’s cranking out pumpkin and fall-inspired treats left and right.
These pumpkin muffies are another example. They’re pumpkin flavored muffin/cupcake tops, entirely frosted with vanilla frosting (I would have used real cream cheese frosting, but I thought it would be too soft for this application).
These muffies are like, the best part of a cupcake, right (just the tops)? AND no liner to deal with! Their pumpkin spice flavor adds that warmth that we’ve all come to look forward to in fall desserts.
The muffies are especially moist, so you don’t have to worry about frosting them right away! Simply store them in an air tight container and frost the next day.
This recipe makes about 16 4-inch muffies and the batch of frosting is enough to frost exactly 15 muffies. You can use that naked muffie for taste testing ;) To get that concentrated color I used gel food coloring, but if you don’t have any on hand or are short on time, store bought frosting will do! The homemade frosting I used sets up well for easier handling.
Adorn your table with these pumpkin muffies this season for that extra touch of specialness :)
Pumpkin Muffies with Vanilla Frosting
Yields 16 muffies
Printer friendly version
Pumpkin Muffies
Ingredients
1 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup salted butter, room temperature
¾ cup solid pack pumpkin
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and butter on low until combined. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Return the mixer to low speed and add in the flour in small additions (about ½ cup at a time). Scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Drop the batter onto the prepared cookie sheet, about 2 tablespoons at a time, spacing them 2 inches apart.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Allow to cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
½ cup solid vegetable shortening
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons milk
Orange gel food color (I used Orange from this set)
Green gel food color (I used Leaf Green from this set)
Directions
- In a large bowl, beat together the shortening and extract with a hand mixer.
- Add in 1 cup of sugar and beat until smooth. Repeat with the remaining cup of sugar*.
- Add the corn syrup and milk and beat until smooth.
- Remove about ⅓ of the frosting into a medium sized bowl. This will be used to make the green frosting. Add a tiny bit of green food coloring and beat until a cohesive color is formed. Repeat until a desired color is reached. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (I used this).
- Make the orange frosting with the remaining ⅔ of the frosting. Add a tiny bit of orange food coloring and beat until a cohesive color is formed. Repeat until a desired color is reached. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip (I used this).
To Frost
- With the orange frosting, pipe a ring around the top of the muffie, leaving a circle about ½-inch in diameter in the middle.
- Drag the orange frosting down the side of the muffie with an offset spatula. Continue around the entire muffie**.
- Fill the circle at the top with a dollop of green frosting.
Notes
- *It will be very dry and crumbly.
- **For easy handling, I held the muffie with my fingertips, placing my thumb under the muffie and one finger in the circle.
Pumpkin Muffies adapted from Whoopie Pies
Vanilla Frosting adapted from Wilton
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