Easy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I bake a lot, but during the fall, it seems that is all I ever do. My husband especially loves it because he loves all the baked goods and hearty meals I make during the colder months. I also really love pumpkin spice. I mean, doesn't just about everyone? As a matter of fact, my love for pumpkin came long before it blew up into a lifestyle.

 My birthday frequently falls on Thanksgiving. This year is actually one of those years that it does. I'm a Turkey Day baby. If my birthday isn't falling on Thanksgiving, it's the day before or the day after. My daughter, being born a few days before my own birthday, is also sometimes a Turkey Day baby. So often enough, instead of birthday cake, I ate a lot of pumpkin pie for my birthday. Pumpkin lover for life, I guess.

I got super hungry for some type of pumpkin goodies recently and decided to throw together these pumpkin cupcakes, which were really simple. 

The ingredients are easy to find and if you are like me, you probably already have these items in your house this time of year. 

Ingredients:

1 box spice cake mix 

1/2 can pure pumpkin

3 eggs

1/4 cup apple cider

Mix all ingredients together and pour batter into cupcake liners

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

That is literally all there is to it!

I add the apple cider instead of water because I feel it just adds even more fall flavor to the cupcakes. The pumpkin makes the cupcakes a little more dense, more like a muffin, which is why I use the super moist spice cake with pudding added. Of course, you could totally add vanilla pudding mix to your regular spice cake mix as well! 

They are so delicious and quite honestly, they don't last long in my house. My kiddos like them with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and mallowcreme pumpkins on top. I like them plain because I don't like frosting (I know, I KNOW!) and sometimes I make them with a crumb topping.

 To make the crumb topping, I just mix some brown sugar, nutmeg, flour, and butter together and sprinkle on top of the cupcakes (muffins?) before I bake them. 

Mmmms so good! 

Pumpkin spice craving fulfilled!