Pumpkin Time

I hate making cupcakes, infact I think they've only been featured twice on the blog. These cupcakes however are so easy and so ridiculously good I don't mind whipping them up. They only require 4 ingredients, one of which is pumpkin.

Matt mentioned something to me in July about how he couldn't wait for the fall so we could eat these. I told him we didn't have to wait for the fall, I had a can of pumpkin and could whip some right up. He insisted that pumpkin is a fall ingredient so I had to wait.

Another reason these are awesome: they are low calorie. The first time I ever had them was at a food day at work. A coworker brought some in and said they were only 50 calories a cupcake. She said this is her mom's recipe and she doesn't know where it originated or if they really have 50 calories, but let's just pretend they do...

I'm obsessed with the special edition Hershey's Kisses. Matt and I love the Pumpkin Spice Kisses and I thought it would be a good idea to use some in this recipe. I drizzled melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses over the top of the cupcakes and put half a kiss in some of the cupcakes. The result... Amazing! The cupcakes themselves are rich, chocolate, and moist and have a dense texture thanks to the pumpkin. The kisses just throw the flavor over the top. We loved it!

So on this glorious 85 degree fall day I baked my first pumpkin goodie of the season:

50 Calorie* ChocolatyChocolateChip Cupcakes.
*we're pretending... remember!?



My adaptions in italics

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix (do not prepare)
1 15oz can Pumpkin
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Pumpkin Spice Kisses, melted
Pumpkin Spice Kisses, halved

Mix all ingredients (except Kissses) in a medium bowl. Spoon into paper cupcake liners. Bake at 350degrees for 16 - 18 minutes.

I stuck half a kiss in some of the cupcakes before I stuck them in the oven. I made sure to cover the top of the kiss with additional batter. When the cupcakes had cooled, I drizzled melted Pumpkin Spice Kisses over top.



This makes 16 - 24 cupcakes depending on how much batter you put in each liner. I made 24 cupcakes, but wish I would have put more batter in each liner and had fewer, bigger cupcakes. I had forgotten these don't rise very much.

Also a note from Matt, he says: "we don't bake the cupcakes all the way. Take them out of the oven when they are still a little bit gooey so you get the full effect of the rich goodness". (I took them out at about 13 or 14 minutes