Super Spooky Halloween Fun

Pumpkin Spice Sour Cream Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Trick or treat! My announcement to my students that Friday's class would require wearing Halloween costumes to engage in a Fall-term Acting I tradition I have deemed "Super Spooky Halloween Fun" was met with a variety of responses. While several students were less than thrilled at the prospect of donning Halloween-themed attire two days before the actual holiday, their attitudes shifted when I promised a baked "treat" as part of the festivities. Pumpkin-themed baked good abound this time of year . . . and with good reason! The familiar orange gourd-like squash yields a flavorful and moist texture to cakes and cookies. I hope you enjoy this spicy, rum-spiked treat throughout the autumn season.

Ingredients
- 2 c. sugar
- 2 1/2 c. butter, room temperature, divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
- 2 c. flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 Tbsp. vanilla, divided
- 2 Tbsp. dark rum
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 2 Tbsp. cinnamon, divided
- 2 tsp. fresh nutmeg
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- Halloween candies for decoration

PUMPKIN SPICE SOUR CREAM CUPCAKES
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line two muffin tins with paper-liners and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream 1 1/2 sticks of butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Blend in pumpkin. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add baking soda, cardamom, 1 Tbsp. cinnamon, and nutmeg and blend until thoroughly mixed together. Add eggs, one at a time, alternating with 1/2 c. additions of flour. Blend thoroughly after each addition. Blend in sour cream, rum, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla until combined.

Spoon prepared batter into paper cupcake liners. Fill each cup to about two-thirds full. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Test cupcakes for doneness and remove from oven. Let cool on a rack completely before frosting. Bake cupcakes in batches and continue process until all the batter has been baked into tasty treats!

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
In a large bowl blend together cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. vanilla, 1 Tbsp, cinnamon, and 1 stick butter with an electric hand mixer. Blend until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add more cinnamon to taste, if desired. Frost each baked and cooled cupcake with a generous amount of frosting and decorate with Halloween candies. Enjoy this spooky and tasty seasonal treat!