RECIPE: Pumpkin Apple Pupcakes

Posted on Oct 27, 2016

Baking is a huge part of autumn for us around here. I love to bake and the way the house smells when I do. I recently started baking some treats and home-cooked meals for our dogs and cats. I love making things from scratch for them and seeing their enjoyment of them makes it a sweet treat for me too.

This is a super simple and fun recipe for pupcakes and it will fill your home with scents of fall pumpkin and apple. Decorate with Zuke’s Mini Natural Ghosts for a cute Halloween twist. If your dogs are anything like Willow, they will love these. She stuck close at every step hoping to sneak a lick of the batter. Have fun and share photos with us if you make them!

Pumpkin Apple Pupcakes

Recipe by Kelli Mlinarik Marko 
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
 Cooking time: 15-20 mins 
Yield: 24 pupcakes

Pupcake Ingredients
– 1 cup whole wheat flour
– 3/4 cup rolled oats
– 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
– 3/4 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin (NOT pie pumpkin)
– 1 medium apple – peeled and small diced
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 3 eggs

Frosting Ingredients
– ½ cup cream cheese at room temperature
– 2 tablespoons applesauce
– Zuke’s Mini Naturals for toppers

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix oats, cinnamon, and flour. Pulse rolled oats ahead of time in a food processor if you want a finer texture.
In another bowl, mix the pumpkin, applesauce, eggs (slightly beaten), and apple.
Slowly combine and mix the wet and dry ingredients. It will be a very thick mixture.
Scoop batter into a greased mini-muffin tin (Nat note: I greased my pan with a little coconut oil and use an ice cream scooper for even cakes with rounded tops).
Pile the pupcakes up high as they will not rise. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until you see the tops just barely starting to brown.
Remove from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely (you can leave them overnight if you wish).
To make the frosting, whisk together the cream cheese and apple sauce. If the frosting is not smooth enough, add one more tablespoon of apple sauce.
Spread on pupcakes and decorate with Zuke’s Mini Naturals!

Getting ready to bake!

Unsweetened apple sauce and mashed pumpkin make a great Kong stuffer by the way!

Special thanks to my eager taste tester Willow.

An ice cream scooper makes a great tool for baking cupcakes and muffins, the scoops are even and nicely rounded.

Willow, I discovered is a frosting girl. This was her favorite part.

These cupcakes will not rise, so make sure you pile the tin a little high.

I like to use a frosting syringe or bag, but you can also put the frosting in a ziplock bag and cut a small hole in the corner of it and squeeze the frosting out. You’ll get a nice even frost. Using a butter knife or spoon is a good way to go too.