Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

This cupcake recipe is actually based on the pumpkin quick bread recipe from The Joy of Cooking. I've changed up the flour, altered some of the spicing and switched the mixing methodology (oh, and added chocolate chips) to create a delicious little cupcake recipe.

I'm usually not much of a cupcake gal, but I just don't think this would work well as cake. Plus, for holiday get-togethers, cupcakes work really well. (If you'd like to make the little pumpkin pie toppers, check out the tutorial over at The Frosted Cake 'N Cookie.)


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
2 1/2 C cake flour *
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice **
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
9 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 C pumpkin (almost an entire can)
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C chocolate chips

* You can use all purpose flour, just reduce the amount by 1/4 C
** You can omit the pumpkin pie spice if you don't have it. Just add in a little bit of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and/or nutmeg. Or not. These are plenty spicy without the addition.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars together
4. Beat the eggs together and slowly beat into the butter, scraping down the sides of the bowl before and after.
5. Mix together the pumpkin, milk and vanilla in a bowl.
6. Beat in the flour and pumpkin mixture, alternating in small batches. Start and end with the flour mixture.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips.
8. Scoop the mixture into the cupcake pans and bake for 20 minutes.
9. Cool completely before icing.

Makes ~30 cupcakes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
16 oz cream cheese (two bricks), room temperature
8 Tbsp butter, room temperature
4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
3 C powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy
2. Beat in vanilla and cinnamon
3. Slowly beat in powdered sugar in three batches, scraping down the bowl between batches