Tastes Like Christmas
Isn’t it weird how some food make you think of a certain time of year. No matter what the weather is like, that taste takes you back to some other time and memory.
That is what happened with hubby and I ate these cupcakes. They taste like Christmas. We both said it after the first bite. I was somewhat surprised because the cookbook has a gingerbread cupcake recipe in it and I thought that would taste like Christmas and these wouldn’t, but they do. They are very good though!
Spice Cupcakes – 5 WW PTS with frosting (from Crazy about Cupcakes) makes 12
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour – I use King Arthurs White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a small bowl combine the molasses and boiling water. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the egg to the creamed mixture. Beat well.
In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients.
Beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating with the molasses mixture. Beat well after each addition.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.
Cream Cheese Frosting (cheat version)
Mix 8 oz cream cheese with a tub of store-bought vanilla frosting.
Nutritional Information (please double check with your ingredients and serving sizes – I use this recipe calculator)
Cupcake: 142.7 Calories, 4.6g Fat, 28.1 mg Cholesterol, 213 mg Sodium, 209.4 mg Potassium, 22.8 g Carbs, 1.6 g Dietary Fiber, 12.3 g Sugar, 2.4 g Protein
WW POINTS = 3
Frosting: 67.2 Calories, 3.1g Fat, 3.3 mg Cholesterol, 56.9 mg Sodium, 4.4 mg Potassium, 9.1 g Carbs, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 8.5 g Sugar, 0.7 g Protein
WW POINTS = 2
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Wow those look awesome, I am going to have to add these to my cookie idea list which seems to be never ending
These look delicious! I will have to try them. I have a recipe for pecan pie cake. It’s quick, easy and tastes just like pecan pie.
There is nothing better than a perfect pecan pie. These look great and really easy.
perfect for a pecan pie addict!
These are such a great idea! One of my favorite pies is pecan, but I can never finish a whole slice because it gets too disgustingly sweet. These are perfect bite-size versions, I love it!
So thoughtful! My dad loves pecan pie, I’ll have to make these for his birthday this winter.
What a great way to have pecan pie in moderation :). Sometimes I find pecan pie too sweet so the cookie base is a nice change.
These look and sound really great! I think these would be a perfect dessert addition to my families Thanksgiving!
These looks great!
I make these too, aren’t they simply delicious! loved your pic!:)
btw, they’d be perfect for my sweet celebration contest I’d be glad if you could send them in for my blog event!
I’off to check out your giveaway:)
Yum! My hubby loves pecans so I might have to give these a try one day 🙂
These are perfect to add to my cookie bags for holiday gifts! Thank you for sharing!
I love pecan pie so I can’t wait to try these little gems. 🙂
I totally saw the write up about Baking Gals in Taste of Home! I was so excited! 😉
I made these this week for the Clean Plate Club Cookie Carnival. They’ve become a family favorite! Oh my are they good!!
Jen, you left a comment on my blog asking if I chilled my dough when I made these cookies (responded on my blog, but I’ll do it here, too!). I didn’t chill the dough, altough I think I will last time. Some of my cookies spread too much just making it following the recipe. Thanks for sharing and submitting it for the cookie carnival!
You saved me this weekend – after being unable to find an ingredient for another recipe, I was in a jam, as all the desserts for my holiday party this weekend had chocolate in them. I remembered I had flagged these cookies to try out – I’ll be making these tomorrow night. Thanks!
Does anyone know if these freeze well?
beantownbaker — November 11th, 2013 @ 9:09 pm
These freeze really well. I’m actually making a batch tomorrow night to freeze until Thanksgiving.