Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes

I made these for a friend for her birthday today. The recipe is in the October issue of BonAppetit Magazine. Mine aren't as cute as the picture in the magazine, so I am using their picture (which I found online here). They are very yummy!

Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes
from BonAppetit Magazine, October 2009

Ingredients:
1 cup self rising flour
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 large egg
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
orange and black food coloring
orange, black, white, and yellow candies and sugar crystals

Special Equipment:
mini muffin pans
1 3/4 x 1 in paper liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with peper liners. Mix flour, golden brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl. Whisk egg, canned pure pumpkin, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Add mixture to dry ingredients; stir to fully combine. Spoon batter into paper liners (batter will almost fill liners). Scatter cryztallized ginger over, if desired.

Bake cupcakes until tester insterted into center comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar.

Divide frosting among 3 bowls. Tint frosting in first bowl with orange coloring (or combine red and yellow coloring to make orange) and frosting in second bowl with black coloring, keeping frosting in third bowl wite. Chill frosting 2 hours or until firm enough to easily spread.

Frost cupcakes; decorate using candy and sugar crystals as desired.

****I didn't have any self-rising flour, so I found this recipe for it online, which was 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Other than that I made the cupcakes pretty much as directed, except that I didn't cook them in liners (I don't have any). I just cooked them straight in the muffin pan. They came right out. I also didn't have any crystallized ginger, so I didn't add that (I have had them both ways and they are good either way). I didn't color the frosting. I just used it as is. I also didn't chill the frosting because I forgot about that part and didn't leave time for it. I thought the frosting was fine unchilled.

I would rate this at 5 stars. These would be perfect for dessert for a fall dinner party.