Quick and Easy Thanksgiving Cupcakes

Today is the second annual ZS Thanksgiving. It is a time for the Zombie Squad to gather from near and far and spend quality time with each other while eating good food and drinking until merry. I, of course, was responsible for the dessert. I didn't have much time, so I went with a cake mix-based recipe that turned out as moist and delicious as a scratch-made recipe. I also needed to find an alternative to cream cheese buttercream, since some people attending the feast have dietary restrictions. I searched through my notebook of flavor ideas and found Honey-Ginger Buttercream. The recipe for the cupcakes are as follows:

• 1 box Duncan Hines space cake mix
• 1 box (3.4oz) Jello Pumpkin Spice pudding mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin

1) Preheat the oven at 350 and place paper cups in cupcake pan.
2) Mix all ingredients for 30 seconds on low, then stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl (as well as the paddle). Continue to mix for 2 minutes on medium. Scoop 1/4 cup of mixture into each baking cup.
3) Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until a butter knife comes out clean.

Yummy!

While the cupcakes were cooling, I started on the Honey-Ginger Buttercream. The recipe I used makes about 4 cups of icing, which is just enough to make 24 roses with leaves.

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Beat the butter until creamy, then add the powdered sugar and beat on high until smooth.

2) Add the honey and ginger.

Love the smell of fresh ginger!

*spray the measuring cup with pan release before measuring your honey!*

3) Beat for another minute or so before adding the vanilla. Then continue to beat on high for 3-4 minutes until nice and fluffy.

The consistency of the buttercream is kind of like a stiff Swiss Meringue without all the muscle involved. So it was perfect to hold a rose shape.

And 23 more...

After I made all of the roses I needed, I used the rest to make leaves. It worked out perfectly, and I didn't have much buttercream left over.

I only used two teaspoons of ginger because I didn't want the flavor of the ginger to overwhelm the honey flavor. Feel free to add another teaspoon if you're feeling spicy!

And of course these cupcakes aren't specifically for Thanksgiving. They are perfect for any fall occasion, or if you're a pumpkin-hoarder like me, they are perfect for any time of the year!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (and have a safe Black Friday!)

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

I had some leftover buttermilk and pumpkin from the Pumpkin Spice Cake I made last week, so I thought, "pumpkin pancakes!!" I looked up a buttermilk pancake recipe on foodtv.com and tweaked it to make it pumpkin-y.

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I would want to change this to 1 cup for extra pumpkin goodness)
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1) Whisk together all of the ingredients except for the 2 tablespoons butter. Mix until combined (there may be little lumpies).

Shaken Buttermilk

Stirring in the pumpkin- yum!

2) Set the mixture aside to rest while the pan heats (on medium heat). Melt some butter in the pan (I used a bit of butter then some oil-- less likely to burn). Ladle 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and cook until bubbles form on top (about 3 minutes). Flip and cook until golden brown (another minute or so).

3) Repeat with the rest of the batter and serve with your favorite syrup (warm maple syrup would be perfect!)

My beloved enjoyed these pancakes, and he said he could taste the pumpkin, but I wanted to taste more of the pumpkin flavor. So I think the next time I make this recipe, I'll put 1 cup into the batter instead of 1/2 cup. I loved it, though!