Mini Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

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Though these are the perfect kid-sized cupcakes, they’re decadent enough for adults. Their light and fluffy texture ensures that you can serve these cupcakes with confidence knowing that they’ll please even the pickiest of eaters. I took these gluten-free, refined sugar-free treats to share at a meeting of people who don’t have any diet restrictions and got a thumbs-up from everyone. The secret is to cream the butter and palm sugar by adding the sugar very slowly and letting it incorporate between additions.

Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Yield: 48 cupcakes

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup palm sugar, divided
1/2 cup Old Fashioned Smooth peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups gluten-free baking & pancake mix (such as Pamela’s Ultimate Gluten-Free Baking & Pancake Mix)
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup milk

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a mini-muffin tin with paper liners. Lightly mist the liners with cooking spray.

2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of the palm sugar in 3 additions, allowing sugar to incorporate between each addition. The palm sugar will not ‘melt’ like regular sugar. Scrape bowl down as necessary. Beat the Old Fashioned Smooth peanut butter into the butter mixture in two additions, again making sure it incorporates fully between additions.

3. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating between each addition. Add vanilla and remaining 1/4 cup palm sugar gradually. Beat until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk together the gluten-free baking & pancake mix, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add the flour and milk to the batter in three parts, starting and ending with the flour. Use a small cookie scoop or two teaspoons to fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way.

5. Bake for 12–15 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Let cool for a couple of minutes in pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Top with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting once completely cool.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough to frost 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

2 ounces Neufchatel (light) cream cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon powdered natural sweetener (such as Stevia), or to taste

Procedure

1. Whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream in two parts and whip until soft, not stiff, peaks form. Place pumpkin puree on a quadruple layer of clean paper towels and spread thinly allowing towel to absorb excess moisture. Repeat if necessary. Scrape pumpkin puree from towel with a rubber spatula. Add pumpkin puree and sweetener to cream cheese mixture and beat until incorporated. Use immediately or refrigerate until needed. This frosting thickens after being refrigerated and works best if used cold.