Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Just trying to embrace fall here.

It seems to be upon us whether we're ready or not.

These cupcakes are meant to be my transition.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks always signal cooler weather to me.

I really do love fall.

It makes me happy to see  all the stunning colors of the changing leaves.

It's among my very favorite things.

Right up there with geese flying in for the season and cozying up to the fireplace.

I was just hoping for a few more summery days before it got started.

Hope you'll embrace the season as well and try out this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes from Annie.

They are moist and yummy! 

I cheated a little by substituting canned caramel frosting and pre-made caramel sauce.  (Bad girl!) The vanilla bean caramel sounds absolutely delicious. I just got too anxious to taste them I guess. I also used Frostin' Pride with a little bit of rum and vanilla extracts with some powdered sugar to make it work for me. This was piped inside and on top in the center of the caramel frosting dam. Seemed more like a latte that way.

 The caramel drizzles started out as thin, shiny ribbons but melted into the topping before they made it out the door.

Still very tasty. Can't you smell the warm caramel?

The pie toppers kind of sunk down into the fluffy layer.

Almost like they were relaxing a bit.

Probably would use a stiffer frosting under them next time.

Or put them on another cupcake.

These had enough going on up top that they kind of got lost.

I think they need a plain background to shine.

These tiny toppers were made from caramel square halves and fondant.

Just wanted to see if they were as simple to make as they appeared.

After about the first dozen or so, yes.

I found that leaving the fondant pie crust to dry a little before shaping the wavy edge gave it a more authentic flaky look.

I used 1/8 teaspoon of white fondant for each dollop of "cream" on top.

 I sort of followed the tutorial by Julie of The Frosted Cake 'n Cookie but had to tweak it a little for my backwards brain.

I think the caramels look more like the real thing than the fondant that was suggested.

I tried. Really, I did. But matching colors is not my strength.

And the fondant didn't have that pumpkin pie filling shine when it dried.

So these worked far better for me.

This adorable little ceramic pie plate came from Crate and Barrel.

Not exactly the right size for these slices but thought you'd want to see them anyway.

They are tiny and so darned cute!

Get your sweaters out! It's here!