Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I went to an early Halloween party over this weekend and made these super cute pumpkin cupcakes. They were so moist and delicious and just sweet enough. I found the cupcake decorations at the craft store to make them a more festive treat. These would be very pretty in a pumpkin muffin tin with orange frosting for Thanksgiving or a harvest treat. 

I typically bake cakes from scratch, they often taste better and don't contain trans fats or preservatives. I took a shortcut with this recipe and used a boxed cake mix. It cut down on the prep and clean up time and I was pleasantly surprised with the final result.

Pumpkin Cupcakes: 

1 box of yellow cake mix

1/2 cup skim milk

1/3 cup canola oil

3 eggs

1 cup plain canned pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 oz lowfat cream cheese

1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Preheat to 350 degrees. 

2. Mix all cupcake ingredients in a large bowl. 

3. Pour batter into cupcake tins (about 2/3 full)

4. Bake for 20 minutes. 

5. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

6. Beat cream cheese and butter together with an electric beater. Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar, beat with electric beater until combined. Add remaining sugar and vanilla extract. 

Nutrition Facts: 1 cupcake

185 calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated), 26 g sugar, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein, 178 mg sodium