Every day is a pumpkin day in the blog world this time of year. Luckily (for me, maybe not for you), I am obsessed with pumpkin. I buy canned pumpkin year round, and eat it almost every day. Weird? Well, yes….I am, but pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors, plus it has tons of health benefits and is a great substitute for oil in baked goods!
I confess, I’ve already started adding pumpkin to my coffee drinks, and cheating on my beloved Dutch Bros with Starbucks because I know *exactly* how I like my flavor pumps at Starbucks and I prefer their pumpkin syrup…
You know what, though? These cupcakes are, like, 5 billion times better than either version. That’s an exact number based on factual evidence. Like surveys, and stuff. Things that people with grown up jobs do to test things. If it were me, they would each do an audition, which I guess they kinda did. The cupcakes get the lead fair and square.
The pumpkin makes them perfectly fluffy and soft, while also adding the perfect fall flavor. And don’t even get me started on my serious love for ground cloves. Ummm, best spice ever maybe??? I love me some cumin, but lately I cannot get enough of the cloves. In my yogurt, in my cupcakes, straight out of the little shaker…
Combine that with cinnamon and nutmeg, and you’ve got a match made in heaven. Brushing the coffee on after they’ve been cooked makes a huge difference. It keeps them soft, and brings out a bold coffee flavor that usually gets lost during baking. You can also control your coffee intensity. I sit there and brush those things over and over and OVER because I have a mild ridiculous wallet blowing obsession with my little caffeinated friend, but if you feel less in love with coffee, you can use less. Just never, ever tell me about it. I can’t handle it.
This is actually not the first go around for these bad boys. They first made their appearance on the blog about a year ago, and they looked a little like this.
Womp womp.
Oh the things you learn in a year. I’m still not an excellent cupcake froster, not like this girl, but I’ve certainly learned a thing or two.
The original recipe for these muffins (which includes all the smart brushing with the coffee, and all that goodness) comes from one of my very favorite recipe blogs Annie’s Eats.
My Swaps:
- Half the recipe (-temptation)
- White whole wheat flour for all purpose flour (+fiber, +protein)
- Apple sauce for oil (-fat, -calories)
- Egg substitute (ie: egg beaters, liquid egg whites, flax egg, or corn starch egg) for whole eggs (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
- Lighter cream cheese frosting for whipped cream (-fat, -calories)
Caramel sauce(-fat, -calories, -sugar)
Skinnified Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
yield 1 dozen
- 1 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 1/2 tbs espresso powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- dash nutmeg
- pinch ground cloves
- dash salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup egg substitute
- 1/4 cup strong coffee or espresso for brushing
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
- In a mixer if you have one (if not you can use a hand mixer or your muscles!) combine pumpkin, sugars, and applesauce. Add egg substitute, followed by dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
- Fill lined muffin tin 3/4 full with batter and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Pierce each cupcake 2-3 times with a fork, then brush with coffee. Wait 2-3 minutes, then brush again.
- Cool completely on wire racks and then top with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting.
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8oz package reducated fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- In an large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in honey and vanilla. Top cupcakes, or store in the refrigerator.
Danielle says
YUM!!! I always seem to end up with 50billion cookies for a recipe that seems to call for 2 dozen… which is just great for my lack of will power with sweets! 😉
I will have to bust out the can of pumpkin, even though Fall still seems a million years from now!
Ari @ Ari's Menu says
It’s getting closer!!! Double digits!! :O)
Emily says
I want!
Ari @ Ari's Menu says
I wish I could actually share food through the blog. That would be genius!
Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday says
Wow, those look really good!
How do you like using splenda in your baking? I find it gives a bit of a funky aftertaste so I prefer to just cut the sugar than sub with splenda. How about you?
Ari @ Ari's Menu says
I try to balance it out–I used to use all Splenda and pretend it was still good. It wasn’t. Now, if I use half and half, then I feel a little better inside and it still tastes amazing IMO. Sometimes I also sub honey for sugar–doesn’t help with the calories, but just a little more natural :O)
Allyson says
Ummmm THAT! Were they as good as they looked? I would totes be willing to have a few of those bad boys.
Ari @ Ari's Menu says
They were! I wasn’t sure if you’d eat them because of the coffee. I have extras. Let’s find a time for me to bring you some!
Allyson says
P.S. You really look SO fantastic! you’re so tiny, but more importantly you just look so genuinely happy. Yay for you!
Ari @ Ari's Menu says
You totally made my day today! :O) Thank you friend!
Barb says
What is “via” from this line? “combine flour, via, baking soda…”
Vera Zecevic – Cupcakes Garden says
These combo of pumpkin,spice and latte in the cupcakes are absolutely amazing! I’m delighted with them! I’ve featured this recipes on my blog! I hope you don’t mind! If you don’t agree with that please contact me and I will remove it. All the best.