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. 
I just love blueberries and your bars look simply incredible!!
These bars are so awesome!! Gorgeous!
holy cow these look fabulous! i need more blueberries in my life, and quick- i’m already onto peaches so hoping i didn’t miss out 🙂
These pie bars look amazing! I`m wishing I had blueberries right now!
I love pie bars!! They look so delicious 🙂 I am loving this recipe!
Yum these are gorgeous. Love the changes you made.
Tried it, tasted awesome! Thanks for the recipe!!
beantownbaker — September 26th, 2013 @ 8:47 am
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Made these and my family ate them in one day! Thanks for the great recipe!!
beantownbaker — October 6th, 2013 @ 8:11 pm
So glad you enjoyed these. I have made them a couple times with different fruits and they’re always a hit.
Made these this past weekend using blueberries and blackberries in equal parts. I love the ease of the crumb crust and top. The only thing I will change when I make them again will be to add lemon juice and zest to the filling. I like the tartness of lemon with blueberries. Will make these with peaches when they are in season. Easy and tasty…thanks!
beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 2:47 pm
I’ve made these with peaches and they’re delicious – definitely do that this summer.
Tried these today because I needed to clear out some frozen blueberries. Used a small rectangle Pyrex dish instead, which worked fine. Added a bit of fresh grated nutmeg. Cut into 12 squares and served with ice cream. This is a keeper!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:25 pm
Love fresh nutmeg! Sounds great.