11.14.2015

With Thanksgiving fast approaching (yay, no school!), the pumpkin spice season is upon us. Although I typically try to avoid all the pumpkin spice Starbucks madness (sorry, I need actual coffee), this year I decided to embrace the trend in my own (better) way. So, I present cream cheese gluten-free pumpkin spice cupcakes! Shoutout to my friend Sarah who made something similar last year and inspired this recipe!

What you’ll need is:

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I prefer bona dea)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon (I like freshly ground cinnamon because the smell is amazing!)

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (optional)

1 12-oz can of pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable (or coconut oil)

1/2 cup dairy-free milk (I prefer unsweetened almond milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 can of frosting (I like cream cheese but chocolate works too)

To make the batter, combine the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder). Mix well and set aside until later. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk). Stir the wet ingredients slowly. Too much stirring makes the pumpkin puree slightly watery. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully combined. The batter should be smooth and not too thick. Add some extra milk if the batter if necessary.

Scoop the batter into cupcake trays (or you could make a full sized cake). Since the batter is more of a liquid, I like to pour it out from a measuring cup. The batter does not rise significantly during cooking so you can fill the tins about 3/4 full.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the tops are firm. After the cupcakes have sufficiently cooled, they are ready for frosting! I have used cream cheese icing and chocolate icing in the past. I prefer the cream cheese icing because it doesn’t overpower the pumpkin flavors. As decoration, I grate some fresh cinnamon sticks over the icing!

The cupcakes are ready to serve! Feed them to all your friends and let them be amazed that gluten-free and dairy-free foods can taste so great! Enjoy!