Super F**king Easy Recipe:Three Ingredient Pumpkin Cupcakes

baking cupcakesBaking can seem intimidating to the uninitiated You decide you want to try and make something special and fall-like for your kids, log onto Pinterest, search recipes, see terms like flax egg and agave nectar, you get scared and give up. I get it. But baking really can be easy and this super simple recipe for pumpkin cupcakes will have you channeling your inner Martha Stewart in no time. You can do this, I promise.

For the cupcakes you need three ingredients:

1. One box vanilla cake mix

2. A small can of pumpkin

3. Cinnamon

That’s it. See? No egg shells to fish out of the batter, no oil to measure, you totally got this.OK. If you registered for a stand mixer when you got married and want to play fancy chef and bust that out, go for it, otherwise a good old bowl and spoon works just fine. Dump the box of cake mix into a bowl, add the pumpkin. Give it a good stir.

Did you accidentally grab the can of pumpkin pie filling instead of the pumpkin? No, no, that’s FINE, come back here. No, don’t call yourself that. No, you’re nothing like Goopy Gwyneth, now stop. It’s OK. If you use pumpkin pie filling instead of plain pumpkin that just means you don’t need to add cinnamon or frosting, because they will be sweet enough already. We can just call them pumpkin muffins and people will still love them, see? Great job!

If you used plain pumpkin, go ahead and add the cinnamon. If you only have pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice in the house you can substitute that too, no worries. How much? A decent sized pinch if you’re a free spirit, or a teaspoon if you’re the rule following type.

Dish the batter out into a greased muffin tin or cupcake liners. If you use a 1/4 cup scoop you should get 12 cupcakes. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes and test for doneness using a toothpick or butter knife. Just slide it into one of the center cupcakes, if it comes out wet they need more time to bake.

Now if this was enough of a baking adventure for you, once they cool you can add some canned frosting and sprinkle some candy corn on top, no judgement, you did GREAT!

But if you’re feeling confident, grab four more items and join me in making some yummy frosting. Yes, you can lick the spoon.

Click on to page two for my four ingredient cream cheese frosting recipe

For cream cheese frosting:

1. A stick of unsalted butter (salted butter would make an amazing salted caramel frosting, but that’s another recipe, let’s stick with the basics for now)

2. A brick of cream cheese

3. Powdered sugar

4. Vanilla extract

Grab that stand mixer or a hand mixer, just like your mom used when you were growing up. Cream the butter and the cream cheese together. If they are still firm from being in the fridge, just toss them in the microwave for a few seconds or put them in a bowl on top of the warm oven, then make a cup of coffee, they will soften right up. Add a dash of vanilla extract for extra flavor, or a teaspoon for the precise folk.

Start to add your powdered sugar to the mix. Unless you want to make a winter wonderland in your kitchen and belt out an impromptu rendition of Let It Go, I suggest you do this in small increments, like 1/2 cup at a time, and with the mixers on the lowest and slowest setting. Keep adding sugar until you’ve got two cups mixed in and taste it. If you like it, fabulous, stop there, you’re all done. If you want it sweeter, add up to a cup more of powdered sugar, stopping when you like the taste. If the frosting starts to get stiff, don’t panic, just add a splash of milk (or water in a pinch) and it will loosen up and smooth back out.

When you’re done, smear the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and you are officially a domestic goddess. If you want to increase the Pinterest factor or smug it up for your Facebook friends, decorate the tops with some candy or plastic spider rings you scored at the Target Dollar Spot. Then munch and brag to your heart’s content.

(Image: Shutterstock.com)

 

 

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