Post-Halloween

I made pumpkin pie cupcakes earlier in the week. They turned out delicious, thank you for asking. Also, in other news, the end of my Halloween night was a real bummer. It's a long story, and you don't care really, so I'll skip ahead. When I got home I ended up eating one of those cupcakes I mentioned. I put the whipped cream on top, sprinkled some pumpkin pie spice on it and just stood in my kitchen thinking about, you know, life. Dwelling on some regrets and poor decision making, the usual. If you've ever seen Bridesmaids, it's essentially what Kristen Wiig does below.

Except she had to bake hers and the frosting is elaborate. Mine was just whipped cream.

I kind of always feel like I’m like this / when I really want to be like this |. Does that make any sense? It’s like I need to be propped up all the time, like when the Scarecrow keeps falling over and Dorothy has to pick him back up when they're skipping around. Have you ever noticed that he loses stuffing randomly and never seems to mind? I think that’s pretty messed up. I mean the straw is like his entrails or blood or something. Moving on.

I don't think that eating that cupcake was necessarily a cathartic experience, maybe a little, but it definitely didn't hurt. It's the little things in life I suppose. For anyone else that is kind of in a downward spiral right now, maybe these will make you feel better.

The recipe comes from the blog Baking Bites.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and half and half until well combined. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.

Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/3 cup of batter.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan. They will sink as they cool.

Chill cupcakes before serving. Top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice.

Makes 12