Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!  If you have a sec - pop on over to Babble.com to take a look at my Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids piece.  Direct link HERE.

November Cupkins Link Party!

As Cupkins drew nearer and nearer this month I became more and more anxious and overwhelmed.  While I LOVE Cupkins, and cupcakes and muffins in general - you all know how busy and crazy my life is right now, I was panicked about WHAT to bake, and WHEN to bake it!  I had no time to plan or test bake, and I was stressing out about the whole thing!

That's when I realized that has the holidays get closer - we all feel these same frantic feelings at one point or another - so for my sake, and yours, I took a deep breath - and decided to keep it simple.  And you know what?  Sometimes simple IS better - because these mini cupcakes are divine... and so easy!  They're small, so you can squeeze one or two in even if you're full from Turkey Day dinner, and they are simple and quick to make - so you can spend the rest of Thanksgiving worrying about the turkey and the sweet potatoes!

Oh, and forgive the dark photos... we had to make a run to take some food to friends in the hospital and I lost my light.  C'est la vie.

Spiced Pumpkin Mini Cupcakes

I was inspired by these darling little mini cupcake wrappers by Wilton.  So much pumpkin-y cuteness!

Combine a box of yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, 4 eggs, and 1/2 tsp each of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon in a standing mixer.  Fill baking cups 2/3 full with cupcake mixture and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes (keep a close eye on them - mini cupcakes especially burn on the bottoms very easily if they are left in too long!)

Remove from oven and allow to cool...

While the cupcakes are cooling, whip up some cream cheese frosting.  Mix 1 stick of butter and 1 block of cream cheese until combined, then add 4 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time.  Add in 2 tbsp of vanilla extract and mix well.  Then pipe or spread onto cupcakes...

After piping, I added just a sprinkle of orange sugar to decorate...

Yum!  Delicious!  Enjoy!

Now head over to Meg's place to check out her yummy looking Apple Pie Muffins... mmmm................

Now it's time for you to share YOUR Thanksgiving cupcake and muffin ideas!  Leave a link to your recipes, decorating tips, and more!  We'd love to salivate over your creations, too!  The link party will stay open until 11:59PM on Tuesday - so link up and tell your friends!

November Cupkins - Extra Helping!

The first Monday of the month has long since passed but Meg and I couldn't resist adding an "extra helping" of November Cupkins in honor of Thanksgiving. To see Meg's Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins, just click on the Cupkins logo above and hope over to her place. Yum!

For my cupcake, I made Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting!


Cupcake Ingredients
- 1 2lb can of sweet potatoes in syrup
- 1 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
- Drain sweet potatoes and rinse with water. Mash in bowl. Measure two cups worth and set aside for cupcakes.



- Whisk dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then beat in the 2 cups of mashed sweet potato and the vanilla. Reduce mixer speed and add flour mixture in small batches, beat until incorporated.





- Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for approx 24-26 minutes at 400 degrees.



- Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 12 oz cream cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar (thanks for catching this omission in the original post, Lindsey!)

Directions
- Beat butter and cream cheese about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add sugar, one cup at a time. Add vanilla. Mix until smooth. Refrigerate before piping.

Happy Thanksgiving!