(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! :)

Handy Halloween Treats

Yikes, this is overdue, but I wanted to put it up now - better late than never, right? These are some handy treats I whipped up for my colleagues right before Halloween this year. The ingredients are simple: clear plastic disposable gloves, popcorn, and candy corn! I wish I could remember where I first saw this idea, but it's been years. I think it was a magazine. At any rate, the process is so easy - the hardest thing is probably tying off the bags once their full, since you tend to have slippery fingers (from the buttery popcorn!). Just drop a piece of candy corn in each finger, then fill the glove with popcorn - you made need to work it a little to fill out each finger. Then tie it off with a twist-tie - I slipped notes on mine as well. Fun, cute, and easy! :)

Door Décor: Fall Frame-Out!

My mum has lost a bit of luster, sadly.

Happy Fall! Ok, I know fall has been here awhile, but in true fall fashion, I've been so busy that it's taken forever for me to put together a seasonal front door display. I acquired and arranged items in bits and pieces, but this weekend's craft was the final touch I needed! Before this weekend I had picked up the little pumpkin from a roadside stand, purchased the mum from Lowe's, and found a cute little pumpkin sign at Dollar General for $6. It's metal and wood, so I'm excited to reuse it each year! My front door was bare, though, and the giant screw sticking out at eye level mocked me with the ghosts of decorations hung by previous owners.

Last spring I posted about my mom's door décor - taking inspiration from her (a common thing), I set about collecting materials to create my own version. I found a spray of cheery yellow (fake) flowers, a spray of fall leaves, and a large photo frame (I popped off the back and removed the glass for my purposes) at Dollar Tree. I picked up a little bud spray from a local craft store - it's well-made and I've been wanting to check out the store for awhile, so win-win. :) The ribbon, cardstock, and French magazine (peeking out of the top of the cone) were all items I had on hand. I simply used my trusty hot glue gun to attach everything. It took a few tries and different ideas (I'm beginning to understand why door wreaths/arrangements are so pricy - it's not as easy as it looks!), but I think it came out really cute!

 

 

Frame - $1

Yellow Flowers - $1

Fall Leaves - $1

Spray Bud - $2.50 (splurge, I know!)

Cardstock/Magazine Pages - on hand

Ribbon - on hand

Project Total: under $5!

Sweet Treats: Acorn Cookies

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe on Facebook for acorn cookies using Hershey's Kisses, mini Nilla Wafers, and butterscotch chips. I was a bit skeptical because A) FB/Pinterest recipes are notoriously spotty (some flat-out lie - take a look) and B) I'd already struck out trying to find chocolate Nilla Wafers for the chocolate mice I made for my birthday party, so I figured finding mini Nilla Wafers would prove equally futile. I made my skepticism known and moved on. However, the very next time I went grocery shopping, I stumbled on a plethora of mini Nilla Wafers! I had been dead wrong in my scoffing. Of course, this meant I had to try out the recipe. I made a few tweaks (switching out butterscotch chips for peanut butter ones and using chocolate frosting instead of decorator's icing), and they still came out just like the picture promised! I stand corrected, FB recipes. But I remain wary. Pinterest Fail has taught me that much. ;)

It's impossible to hide the icing - but my coworkers didn't seem to mind
(I left a container of 20+ in the teacher's lounge... they were gone by 2pm!).