Pumpkin Cupcakes ♥

Good Afternoon Blog World! ♥

Today I woke up in an exceptional mood, and I figured I would share my happiness with ya'll. The weather is cool, chilly and wet today, and it's the perfect day to snuggle up on the couch and watch some movies. Instead I'm watching DVR'd shows and blogging! Unfortunately, I wish I could just sit all day and lolly-gag, but I have an entire messy house to clean. I'm heading to Johnson City this weekend to spend time with my parents, and take care of some much needed wedding planning! I have alot of laundry, dirty dishes, and all around tidying to do. I wish I could be a little more consistent on cleaning on a daily basis, but that subject is for another day.

In my last post, I said that I would be adding more Pumpkin Recipes...well here is one that I absolutely LOVE. I have no idea what the nutritional facts are, I just know that these are moist, decadent and sweet cupcakes. They're so good, but there is NO way that I could have more than one in one sitting.

{This was my first time at ever icing a cupcake with a piper, horrible disaster, but they tasted so amazingly good, seriously these WILL be made again!}

I got this recipe from Hoosier Homeade.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting.

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
• 2 1/3 cups flour, all-purpose
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk on hand, make your own, its super easy. Take a measuring cup, pour 1 tbsp vinegar in it, then fill the rest with milk. Now you've made your own buttermilk!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add pumpkin, beat well.
In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients, sift together (I use a whisk to mix). Add to pumpkin mixture, alternating with buttermilk, and beating well after each addition.
Bake cupcakes 10 – 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center, comes out clean.

ButterCream Frosting
Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter, softened
4 cups of powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons of vanilla

Directions:
Whip butter until it’s creamy and fluffy
Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, I alternate with milk and vanilla. Beat well after each addition. You can add coloring after you completely mix it, if you'd like. I didn't add any coloring for these cupcakes.
 
Here is a picture of the cupcakes I made! We added candy corn on the tops to jazz them up for Halloween!
 

On another note, Halloween treats have hurt my weight loss! I went to my WW meeting last night, and just weighed in since I had plans that conflicted with the meeting. I gained 4 pounds back in 2 weeks. But I still didn't gain ALL of it back! I had lost a total of 11 pounds, but now I'm back to a total of 7 pounds. I've been slacking when it comes to tracking what I eat. So I kind of figured I had gained some back. It's a setback, but it's not going to stop me in my tracks. I am a little more aware that I can't play around when it comes to my health. I have to be a little more serious about this entire situation. I just love food so much! So my plan is to make things like normal, and substitute when I can, and just eat a lot less than I usually do. I'll be eating like a bird from now on! I just can't eat meatless burgers, or meatless spaghetti. I have a hard time NOT drinking sweet tea daily. I LOVE comfort food, and most comfort food has more than one serving of carbs! So wish me luck on eating like a bird, and drinking nothing but water. I'll be needing it!

 

For Now & God Bless, *Amber*