Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe For Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie has always been a beloved staple of the Thanksgiving lineup, but with kids in the mix, it’s sometimes nice to go with bite-sized treats. In this recipe, the Westside bakery H Bake Shop dresses up their organic Great Pumpkin cupcakes with chai frosting and candied pumpkin seeds as a twist on traditional harvest flavors.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Cheesecake filling ingredients
8 oz cream cheese
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional for grownups:
Add 4 oz espresso

Candied pumpkin seed ingredients
1 large egg white
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin seeds

In one bowl, cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time.

Add approx. 1/4 of flour mixture to creamed butter, then add 1/4 of pumpkin mixture. Alternate adding the dry (flour) and wet (pumpkin) mixtures to the creamed butter, ending with flour.

For the filling:
Mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar at medium speed until creamy, then add the vanilla extract and the optional espresso. Put in a piping bag and reserve.

For the icing:
Break the bag of tea into the heavy cream, then heat the cream and let cool. Mix the egg whites and powdered sugar and beat for 5 minutes on medium speed. Add the butter and beat for 10 minutes on medium high, then fold in the cool chai tea cream.

For the pumpkin seeds:
Mix the egg white with the sugar before adding the pumpkin seeds. Spread the seeds on a sheet pan and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes. Now stir the seeds and continue baking for 5 more minutes, until golden brown.