Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

107 Replies

This is the time of year I start getting out my pumpkin recipes, like so many of you. But one thing I hadn’t tried making yet was pumpkin cupcakes. Since I’m a big cupcake fan, I thought it was about time to try this out! So I did some experimenting and was very happy with the results! The cupcakes puff up nicely with a rounded top and taste great with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

If you love pumpkin-flavored goodies, you’ll want to make these! This recipe gives you 22 yummy cupcakes. And you’ll have plenty of frosting if you like frosting your cupcakes generously like I do. If you just want to frost them lightly, you can halve the frosting recipe.

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PUMPKIN CUPCAKES WITH CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING by NancyC

Makes 22 cupcakes

  • 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 (15-oz.) can pure pumpkin puree (not canned pumpkin pie filling)
  • Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin pans (22 cups–you’ll have 2 less in one pan) with paper liners; set aside.

In medium bowl, blend the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, blend canola oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Stir in the milk and pumpkin puree and blend well. Add the flour mixture into this pumpkin mixture and stir until blended. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to completely cool on a wire rack.

You can make the frosting while cupcakes are cooling…

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Makes enough to generously frost all your cupcakes! Halve the recipe if you want to frost your cupcakes more lightly.

  • 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (regular or light), softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 7 1/2 to 8 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Blend softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add in vanilla and cinnamon, blending everything well. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar a cup at a time, blending mixture after each addition. Frost cupcakes when they have completely cooled. If you’re not serving these soon after frosting them, refrigerate until ready to serve (because of the cream cheese in the frosting).

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Have you made any pumpkin recipes yet? What’s your favorite pumpkin treat?

Sharing at Farmhouse Friday, Fiesta Friday, Weekend Potluck, Thursday Favorite Things, Grace at Home, Full Plate Thursday, Wow Me Wednesday, Homestead Blog Hop, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Wonderful Wednesday, Meal Plan Monday, Inspire Me Monday.


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107 thoughts on “Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting”

    1. nancyc Post author

      Sorry to hear you’re having a rainy day–we had rain earlier this week, so it must have gone your way 😦 The last week has really felt like fall, so pumpkin has been on my mind, too!

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  7. Bev Himes

    Just made these! Tasty! However, I was disappointed in the icing. I couldn’t add enough 10x sugar to get it thick enough to look nice on the cupcake. I just gave up because the icing was tasting more like sugar than cream cheese/cinnamon. Even broke down and bought a Wilton cupcake decorating set to make them look really fancy to give as gift….but not to be. Would definitely make the cupcake recipe again but would look for a different icing to use.

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    2. Kaitlan

      Yes!! I agree … I put 4 cups of powered sugar and it looked and tasted great but I did what the recipe told me to I added 3 more cups and I knew right away it was wrong BC it started to become like a ball of glue and runny! Not only was it too sweet but it ran all down the side of my cupcakes 😦 I bake a lot so I was kinda disappointed in myself for not stopping while I was ahead … but thanks anyway

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  8. Ladi Adra

    I love the photo, as well as the frosting, and like others have commented pumpkin is on my mind. As I am posting I can already taste these. Y-U-M-M-MMM! Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Miz Helen

    Hi Nancy,
    Your Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting look delicious, just perfect for fall. Hope you are having a great weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  14. Amy

    I made these yesterday and served them along with hot apple cider around the campfire for a perfect fall afternoon! My husband had not tried one yet and took one to work and just called to say that it was the best muffin that he had ever had! Thanks for the recipe- it’s a hit!

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  15. Anya

    Did anyone else have a problem with the cupcakes sticking to the paper liners? They were pretty sticky and I’m not sure if that’s normal because of the pumpkin or if it was because I substituted applesauce for the oil. They were delicious though! I was too lazy to make the frosting, so I just used store bought cream cheese frosting and sprinkled cinnamon on top. 🙂

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    1. nancyc Post author

      It must have been your substitution of applesauce making them more sticky, Anya. Can’t think of any other reason they would be that way!

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  18. Ginger

    I’m not one that usually posts comments on posts, but felt so strongly about this that I had to share. First, let me say that I am a weird one about pumpkin. Not a big fan. BUT, I love baking and wanted to try something fallish, so I chose to try your cupcakes. These are AWESOME! Wowzers! My co-workers had a love/hate relationship with me the last couple of days! (They are watching their waist sizes.) Been asked to make these again, and I just made them 2 days ago! The icing was OUTTA THIS WORLD! (Which, by-the-way, I chose to cut the tops off the cupcakes and put some in the middle, too. GREAT IDEA!) I cannot wait to use my leftovers on some bagels. I’m drooling just thinking about it… OH! And these received more compliments than the $40 cake from Baskin Robins…I think that speaks volumes! Thanks for sharing with us!

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    1. nancyc Post author

      I’ve read that a 2-layer cake makes about 24 to 30 cupcakes–that’s probably for a 9″ layer cake. So, this recipe may work for an 8″ cake. Let me know if you try that out!

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  23. Crystal-Alyson Berry

    Hi! I’m really wanting to make these today and I was just wondering would it be alright to use pumpkin pie spice? I forgot that I ran out of nutmeg and I don’t have allspice either. Also how much would I use? I was trying to find that on google and for once it wasn’t helpful.

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    1. nancyc Post author

      You could just try substituting the same amount of pumpkin pie spice or allspice for the nutmeg. I don’t think it will make a huge difference in the taste. Hope you like them!

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  24. Katelynn Hyde

    Thank you so much for this Delicious Recipe!!! I made them for my roommates, and they absolutely loved them! I even made them at high altitude and they still rose beautifully. I cut the frosting recipe in half and had plenty to frost the 18 remaining. [4 of them were eaten before i could even frost them.] There is a photo in my instagram album!!! 😀

    Thanks again!!!

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    1. nancyc Post author

      Glad you liked these, Katelynn! Thanks for mentioning that they worked at high altitude…I was wondering if that would affect the cupcakes or the frosting, since some people have mentioned their frosting was runny. I’m glad yours turned out well! 🙂

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  29. Lindsay

    I made these cupcakes and they were a hit with everyone who tried them at work! I followed the cupcake recipe to a T and they were moist and perfectly balanced with all of the favors. I halved the cream cheese, butter, and confectioners sugar in the frosting recipe but kept the other 2 things. It was more than enough for 23 cupcakes and it was great. Thank you! Try this and enjoy : )

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  30. Danielle

    Hi the frosting was a nice thick consistency! Absolutely no prob with that. Cupcakes taste delicious.. And are very moist. Are the supposed to be so moist?
    Thanks Nancy!

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  31. Kim

    I made these tonight and they are fantastic. Pretty sure everyone will love them tomorrow, but if not..that’s more for me. I was able to squeeze out 24 cupcakes and cut the frosting in half (left the cinnamon and vanilla the same). I had just enough frosting, but it was plenty. Found you via pinterest..thanks for sharing!

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  32. musefairy

    I saw this recipe and just fell in love with it they sounded so good! The first batch I made I accidently put the sugar in with the dry stuff, didn’t seem to make a big difference. They turned out amazing actually, I didn’t have a blender accessory for the icing so I mixed it by hand and found that I like the little bits of cream cheese! I took some to my moms work and my work and everyone absolutely loved them! I made another batch a little bit earlier and this time I actually followed the recipe, they also turned out amazing! And I used one batch of icing on all 48 cupcakes! Just wanted to let you know I loved them!

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  36. ashley

    I Just Wanted To Say I Love These Cupcakes And IM Ready For Fall To Make Them Again!!!! I Didn’t Want To Keep That Many In My House So I Sent Them To Work With My Husband. He Is A Marine And Them Boys Will Eat Anything. They Devoured Them All For Breakfast And Constantly Wanted more!!!! Thanks For ThIs Awesome Recipe Enjoyed By So Many!!!

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  38. Molly

    I LOVE pumpkin recipes.. I made them a little bit lighter, I added 0% Vanilla Chobani instead of the oil and I just finished making them and I only added 3 cups of powdered sugar to the icing and it was perfect! 🙂 GREAT recipe!

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  49. Caroline

    Hi, I was wondering if the timing or degrees would be different if I made this recipe in mini-cupcakes? Any idea? Thanks!

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    1. nancyc Post author

      I haven’t made these as mini’s, but you could bake them at the same temp and check them after 10 minutes (that’s half the baking time of the regular size muffins)–they should be done by then!

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  50. Adrienne

    I’ve made these multiple times since finding the recipe this past October. Amazing recipe and such a popular cupcake! My friends, family and coworkers are greatful! Thank You!

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  51. stepheena

    I made these cupcakes for a cupcake extravaganza that we had to fundraise for our local cheerleading team. They turned out great but I had put 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of how much it insists. After that i lost the recipe and i finally found it since October 2013. They’re amazing and i’ve been searching for them! thanks for the recipe 🙂

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  52. simplystess

    Hi Nancy! I made these cupcakes one night because I was craving pumpkin, and my family deemed them the best thing I’ve ever baked. The cake was so moist and soft, and the frosting was creamy and not overly sweet. Absolutely perfect!

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  53. cindy

    I just HAD to share…….just finished making your pumpkin cupcakes and they are NOW my most favorite cupcake ever!!! The frosting alone is so dee-lish!!! Thank you for your creativity and for sharing 🙂
    Have blessed one!!

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  54. Jenny Harrah

    I found your recipe via Pinterest. I’ve made it a couple of times. I wanted to thank you for sharing, and let you know that these are my absolute favorite cupcake! 🙂

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  57. virginia

    Found this recipe on pinterest & im making them right now for thanksgiving tomorrow. They smell delicious and also tast delicious. Thank you for your wonderful recipe!!! 🙂

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  59. Stephanie

    These were amazing! For the frosting, I ended up adding 1 tsp of nutmeg to help enhance the cinnamon. So yummy, they were a huge hit with my friends and family!

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