These cute little bites of pumpkin and sweet cream cheese frosting are a perfect Fall treat! Top them with a little Hershey Kiss acorn, and they are a sweet place setting for Thanksgiving!
If you have followed this blog for very long, you know that I hate pumpkin. I cave in to autumn recipes though and sometimes create pumpkin treats for you all. I rely on others to tell me how they taste, and these got RAVE reviews from my taste-testing friends.
They are an adaptation of my mom’s delicious Pumpkin Roll, but in cute and bite-size portions!
And then there are those cute little acorns- easy and fun to make for your fall celebrations.
Here’s how we created all of this yummy-ness! (printable recipe)
INGREDIENTS: (makes about 38-40 mini cupcakes)
Cupcakes:
- 2/3 cup pumpkin
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
Frosting: (halve this if you don’t like piles of frosting as shown in my photos!)
- 8 oz (1 package) cream cheese (softened)
- 1/2 cup of butter (softened)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- dash of salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup white chocolate chips (melted)
Acorns:
- 40 Hershey kisses
- 40 mini Nilla Wafers
- about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix together all of the cupcake ingredients, adding the flour, cinnamon and soda last. Blend well.
- Spoon into mini cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes
- Cool completely and frost.
Frosting:
- On medium speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until creamy.
- Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
- Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between, until smooth.
- Add melted white chocolate to icing and beat on low until completely combined.
- Place in a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled mini cupcakes.
- Add leaf sprinkles and acorn (if desired)
Acorns:
- Count out about 40 chocolate chips, Nilla Wafers and (unwrapped!) Hershey kisses.
- Melt remaining chocolate chips
- Set Nilla Wafers flat side up on a plate.
- Spread a small amount of melted chocolate on the bottom of a Hershey kiss and set it (melted chocolate side down) on a Nilla Wafer. Repeat until all kisses are placed and refrigerate until hardened together.
- Use a toothpick to put a small amount of melted chocolate on a chocolate chip and carefully hold to the top of the Nilla Wafer until it hardens and stays (when the Nilla Wafer is cold from the fridge, this happens in seconds).
- Use to decorate your table and your cupcakes!!!
My thoughts: Cute, easy and (according to my friends!) delicious! I hope you get a chance to try these little bites of fall happiness! Enjoy!! ~r
Other really fun and cute fall treats: (click on a photo to see the recipe!)
EASYBAKED 