The only thing that broke me out of my doingabsolutelynothingwithmylifeisfun phase was the approach of one of my favorite holidays - Thanksgiving! Why is Thanksgiving my favorite holiday you ask? Well, turkey, for one thing. No pressure for gift-giving is another. But being with family and friends who all celebrate this one holiday cause we're Americans (read: Amuuuricans) tops the charts. Oh - and you can seriously have as many Thanksgivings as you can fit in a one week period. I'm serious (and thankful...see what I did there?)
With that being said, I've now gone zero-to-sixty and have so many recipes and pics to share! I think the easiest way to go about this will be in chronological order, or at least that's my excuse for appeasing my OCD-self. Three Thanksgivings...three posts - get excited.
First Thanksgiving. Second annual potluck with a bunch of friends in Boston (unfortunately I missed the first annual due to reasons I will not mention but had something to do with a Beerfest) and it was amazing. A fantastic 5th floor apt in Back Bay (good for working off pre-turkey calories) thanks to our host, Dan, 15 good friends, a ridiculous amount of awesome food, and a little camera sitting in the corner of the room taking pictures every 30 seconds. Talk about a fantastic and delicious time!!
For the potluck I (obviously) brought pooncakes and as a testament to the goodness of the recipe, I didn't have to bring a single one home. With it being Thanksgiving and all, I chose a pumpkin cupcake. I'm actually not a huge fan of pumpkin things, but this recipe turned out just awesome. The site I found it at also had a recipe for cinnamon cream cheese frosting that she paired it with. I didn't feel any inclination whatsoever to change this one bit, so without further ado...
Pumpkin Cupcakes adapted from Carla's Confections
Yield: ~100 pooncakes
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup buttermilk or buttermilk substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F and line cupcake tin with liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder,
baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Set
aside.
In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree,
buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix together
and set aside.
In the bowl of a standup mixer, cream together the butter
and both sugars until light and fluffy.
Scrape down the bowl, then beat in eggs, one at a time, allowing each to
be fully incorporated before adding the next.
Scrape down the bowl.
Alternating between dry and wet, add the flour mixture in
three additions and the pumpkin mixture in two additions, beginning and ending
with dry ingredients. Scrape down the
bowl between each addition and mix until just combined.
Fill cupcake tins about ⅔ full and bake for about 15-18
minutes depending on your oven. Remove
the cupcakes from the tins as quickly as possible and allow to cool completely
before frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting adapted from Carla's Confections
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ pounds confectioner’s sugar
½ tablespoon milk
In the bowl of a standup mixer, cream together the butter
and cream cheese until soft and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and cinnamon and beat well.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the confectioner’s sugar
until it has all been incorporated.
Splash in the milk until you get to the desired consistency. Beat until the frosting is fluffy. Decorate and enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Tiffany
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