Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Fall came, and my cabinet was ready with a healthy supply of pumpkin. I don't generally need much of an excuse to make cupcakes--in this case, having pumpkin handy was reason enough. And cream cheese frosting...

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes
-2 c. cake flour
-1/2 t. baking soda
-2 t. baking powder
-1/2 t. salt
-1 t. cinnamon
-1 1/2 t. ginger
-1/2 t. nutmeg
-1/4 t. cloves
-1/2 c. butter, softened
-1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
-2 eggs, room temperature
-1/2 c. buttermilk, room temperature
-3/4 c. pumpkin puree

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
3. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with two additions of buttermilk. Once combined, beat in pumpkin puree.
4. Divide into 16 lined baking cups, and bake, rotating tins halfway through, for 15-18 minutes at 350*.
5. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies

Here's another post that's a week late in coming--but midterms are over! Perhaps I'll bake something to celebrate?

My project for last weekend featured pumpkin again--somehow it seemed fitting for Halloween week. Here I used the same base as I did for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (minus the chips). Instead of dropping, I piped the dough into two-inch circles and baked them for 7 minutes. These have a very cakey consistency, which seemed like it might pair quite nicely with cream cheese frosting...

It did. These went over very well with the taste-testers, and I must say, these might be the best thing I've put together in a while--worth a try!

Pausing here to comment on how fantastic the Silpats were with this particular recipe. (No, they aren't paying me to advertise--they're just that amazing!)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, it's mid-week, so by this afternoon I had gone about as long as I could without clocking some more kitchen time. It's fall, and there's no debating--it's time for pumpkins and spice. So, add some chocolate to those things, and you've got a pretty phenomenal cookie. I first tried these a few years ago, when Jaime brought some to the lab--fell in love, found a recipe, and the rest was history.

First of all, I need to introduce the newest addition to my kitchen--the "Hand-Stand Mixer". A smaller (less expensive!) version of a stand mixer that packs a lot of punch, and that can be used as a hand mixer too. Bonus! This came to live with me earlier this month, and we have quickly bonded. Here it is, all shiny, and in action...

And the final product... I have every intention of sharing these with classmates tomorrow, but by morning I may have changed my mind?