Trick or Treat!

For Halloween, I wanted to make a new cupcake recipe...only I wanted to make a "not too sweet, not chocolate, no sugar overload" type of concoction. I was feeling the need for...something different!

I decided to go with a recipe I found on good ol' Pinterest: Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Mmmm...perfect for a fall evening of tricks and treats!

Here's what you need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups applesauce, unsweetened

Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, apple pie spice, nutmeg, and cloves.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low, add applesauce and then the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarter full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 ounces) organic Neufchatel cheese, room temperature
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ vanilla extract
¼ to ½ tsp cinnamon

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth; beat in vanilla and cinnamon. Top each cupcake with frosting and serve!