It’s fall. I wanted to bake. What more can I say?

Apple Walnut Cupcakes

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 small apples (I used MacIntosh)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons 100% apple juice
1 cup chopped walnuts

-Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare muffin tins with cupcake liner of choice.

-Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

-Peel and core apples, blend in food processor until “minced”.

Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and call that “minced” apple.

-Combine apples with white sugar; set aside.

-In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and apple juice.

-Stir in apple mixture, then flour mixture. Fold in walnuts.

-Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans, filling about 2/3 full.

-Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Top with:

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

-Combine 8oz cream cheese and 1/2 stick butter (both room temp).

-Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.

-Add 2-3 cups powdered sugar and mix until frosting reaches desired consistency.

-Frost. And enjoy!

Note:

1. I had some extra batter so I made myself a mini-cake in a large ramekin, topped it off with some vanilla ice cream and may or may not have devoured it in ten seconds. Somehow I actually managed to taste the cake amidst my utter inhaling and noticed that the apple flavor wasn’t as strong as I’d have liked it to be. Soooo, before I frosted the cupcakes, I poked holes in each one and painted them with more apple juice, hoping to infuse the flavor a bit.

2. I thought the cupcakes looked a little boring so I decided to chop up some more walnuts, sprinkle them with a few drops of apple juice and toss them in cinnamon and brown sugar. I then frosted just the edge of each cupcake and rolled it in the walnut mixture before piping on the rest of the frosting.