Last month, I discovered Pinterest. It is a fantastic diversion. I love to browse all of the recipes, craft ideas, apartment decorating, colors, adorableness... The emphasis on the visual makes my eyes happy. Incidentally, you can follow me here.
Lately, there has been an impressive array of October-related pins on Pinterest. Autumn is my favorite season, and I grew up in a household that celebrated Halloween with as much gusto as Christmas, so I am very enthusiastic about October, with its pumpkins, cats, owls, and witches. Pumpkin, in particular, brings me much joy. So, when I ran across a pin for pumpkin spice cupcakes, I knew it had to happen.
The biggest challenge about this recipe? Finding canned pumpkin! Apparently, there is some sort of pumpkin crisis afoot. I scoured Safeway for a good twenty minutes before asking a manager, who told me that Safeway has been out of canned pumpkin for two months because it is stockpiling it for Thanksgiving. I had a hard time keeping a straight face as he told me this with an acute sense of conspiratorial urgency. Leaving Safeway, I thought to myself, there is no way that Trader Joe's has a corporate contingency plan that involves the stockpiling of canned pumpkin in the event of a crisis. Sure, enough, I was able to find plenty of organic pumpkin at Trader Joe's. Panic setting in at the thought of TJ's stock running low, I found myself compulsively buying three cans.
The other reason I wanted to make cupcakes was to use my lovely Halloween cupcakes wrappers with owls and ravens, which I found at Michael's:
The recipe is simple enough. After extensive research, I chose my favorite recipes from two different blogs for the cupcakes and the frosting, and they paired quite nicely.
