Perfectly Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting Recipe

I am just going to go ahead and say it: I’ve gone pumpkin crazy. It happens every year around this time. First it is my growing Starbucks PSL fund, then I start adding a little pumpkin spice into random dishes and desserts, then it explodes into a full fledged pumpkin flavored October and by the time December rolls around I’ve had my fill for an entire year. Do you suffer from this too? If so, I’ve got just the thing: the 12 Bloggers Pumpkin Palooza! You heard that right – our monthly recipe theme has gone pumpkin and it couldn’t get more delicious! Now put on your foodie hat and check out my Pumpkin Patch Buttercream cupcakes!

Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting

You already know how much I love making fresh buttercream frosting, and this new version is just as delicious! Here is what you need:

1 stick slightly softened (but not melted) unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco sticks work well)
3-4 cups powdered sugar
half can of pumpkin – NOT pumpkin pie filling
1 tbsp cinnamon
stand mixer with whisk attachment

The first thing you want to do is combine your butter, vegetable shortening and half of your powdered sugar in your stand mixer and mix on medium for 1-2 minutes. Once that starts coming together go ahead and add your pumpkin and the second half of your powdered sugar. Mix on a fast setting for another 3-4 minutes until fluffy and then pop it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Guess what? You’re finished! Now let’s make our pumpkin patch cupcakes!

Before you begin there are a few things you need to know – one is don’t overfill your cupcakes. You want them to *just* reach the tops of your cupcake wrappers, so make sure to add less batter to each one than normal. Also, if you don’t have a piping bag for the icing you can just use a spatula to shape your pumpkins. I am using a simple boxed cupcake recipe here with a few of my own special ingredients added in to give it a festive flavor, but any kind you want will do. I love the rich brown color of these, and they are a spiced cake variety so they taste amazing with the pumpkin buttercream! So bake your cupcakes and let them cool for a few minutes before icing them. You will also need some Tootsie Rolls and a can of green detail icing.

To make your pumpkins, point the tip of your icing bag towards the center of your cupcake and squeeze, going upwards until you have a nice round(ish) mound. If you have trouble with it forming correctly you can grab a spatula and sculpt it, but make sure that you are ending up with a smooth surface. Next cut a Tootsie Roll in half, stick it in the top and follow with a swirl of green icing. After that you are ready to serve your cupcakes! How cute are these?