(Easy) Pumpkin Cinnamon Cupcakes

My mom sent me a recipe for pumpkin cinnamon cupcakes the other week, and I thought it looked pretty easy and tasty (my two main baking/cooking prerequisites!). I gathered ingredients and whipped up a batch, which proved to yield 30+ cupcakes! I brought a dozen into work for my coworkers on Oct. 8 (awesome coincidence, since I had no idea this day existed). They were a big hit, and two colleagues asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it below! I was also able to use these ADORABLE owl cupcake toppers that I'd picked up at Wal-Mart a few falls ago, so it would have been a major win no matter what. ;)

 Ok, the recipe - are you ready? Here it is! Click the links for each ingredient to see the specific variety I used (due to personal preference and/or availability).

Ingredients:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix, any variety
• All the ingredients needed for the cake mix, lol (eggs, milk, veg. oil and/or butter, etc.)
• 1 can of plain pumpkin (15 oz.)
• 1 bag of cinnamon chips (10 oz.)
• 1 can of cream cheese icing

 Directions:

•  Prepare cake batter as directed on box. 
• Add in can of pumpkin.
• Mix in bag of cinnamon chips.
• Bake as directed on box (I added a few minutes, since the batter was so wet and my oven is older and doesn't run very hot).
• Frost cooled cupcakes with icing. 
• Literally, that's it. So. Easy.

My finished cupcakes were really moist and flavorful. Not sure if they would be as moist with a different batter as a base - I'll probably try a different one the next time I bake these, just out of curiosity. Hope you get a chance to try this recipe for yourself! :)

Pill Box (Remix)

A few weeks before Mother's Day this year I stumbled on a blog post detailing how to make this cute candy gift box out of an oversized pill box. I decided to make one for my mom (it's mail-friendly, which is a perk when you live out of state!), and while she liked it, I felt sort of like a child bringing home a macaroni necklace for her mom's birthday. Meh.

However, I really liked the concept, so I remixed it a few weeks later for a cute congrats gift for my brother, who had just finished up his last class for his MBA. He lives in DC, so a mail-friendly gift was just what I needed.

I kept the same ideas from the original, making a few little tweaks to fit my purposes. I used labels to cover both sides of the flip lids (to keep the large day-of-the-week letters from showing) and used Sharpies to write out a more appropriate greeting - "HOORAY!" - for the occasion.

I trimmed out colorful pieces of cardstock to fit inside each compartment (this idea was in the original craft), then decorated each one with a little congrats note.














 After they were all finished, I sprinkled them into the pill box:

 I then tucked a Riesen (T's favorite candy) inside each compartment - they were a perfect fit!

After snapping each lid shut, it was ready to go! The whole thing cost $2.00 - $1 for the pill box (from Dollar Tree) and $1 for a mini bag of Riesens (also from Dollar Tree). Everything else (labels, cardstock, Sharpies) I had on hand. Easy-peasy!