Things are starting to get a little bit busy. And little is a severe understatement.
This week has been full of meeting, appointments, trying to stay on top of house chores and more… Not to mention the official start to winter sports season, so I’m away from home more often than not. It’s that time of year where I tend to forget what my husband and dog look like because we both leave for work at 6 a.m. or earlier, and I come home around 3 p.m., just long enough to grab some food, my camera gear and zip off to whatever basketball/ice hockey/wrestling/cheerleading/ski/etc… event it is I’m covering – only to get home by 8 p.m. if I’m lucky.
It’s because of the crazy schedule, I’m a week late in posting my Thanksgiving Foodie Friday post. And I’m not going to lie: I can’t tell you how the frosting tastes because I haven’t tried it. I do know the actual cupcake was pretty dang good. I can say this though, my entire house smelled amazing while I was baking everything. 
Word of advice? If you plan on spooning or knifing the frosting on? Cut the frosting recipe in half. You’ll have SO much waste if you don’t. If you plan on piping it on, then stick with what’s in the recipe.
Another thing… I doubled the apple butter and caramel in the frosting recipe. I taste tested it after everything was all mixed and it was way too tart for my likes, and given I’m no longer a big sweets person (except for on Sundays at my parents for dinner. I blame my mother, it’s all her fault for making too many yummy things), that speaks volumes.
Caramel Apple Butter Cupcakes (From Snappy Gourmet)
- 1 (15.25 box) yellow cake mix
- ¾ cup apple cider
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup Apple Butter (Musselman’s is probably going to be your easiest find, it’s sold everywhere. Unless you’ve got a mom like mine and makes it from scratch then cans it. If you do, or you do it yourself, use the homemade, as we all know homemade is best!)
- 3 (8 oz.) packages regular cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3 (4 oz.) sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup thick caramel topping
- ¼ Apple Butter
- 6 cups sifted powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin pans with paper baking liners or spray pans with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together cake mix, cider, eggs, and ½ cup apple butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans so that each cup is about ⅔ full.
- Bake cupcakes for about 19-23 minutes or when toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on wire racks and cool completely.
- To make frosting, mix together cream cheese and butter in large mixing bowl until well combined and lumps are all gone. Mix in ¼ cup caramel and apple butter until well combined. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until well combined. Frost cupcakes as desired with pastry bag or knife.
- If desired, warm remaining ¼ cup of caramel in microwave for 15 seconds or until drizzling consistency. Cool slightly then drizzle over cupcakes. Sprinkle nuts on top. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
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