Mmmmmmm.....Pumpkin.

October is definitely the time for all things Pumpkin! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice cupcakes, pumpkin cookies, and of course these babies.... Pumpkin bars!

I was visting my Aunt in Portland a few years ago and she introduced me to these little ditties. Needless to say, it was love at first bite. The bar itself isn't sweet, and then you add some cream cheese icing, & maybe a few cute little accents. AMAZING!

I apologize for the slightly blurry photo.... It's definitely time for a new camera. BUT to make up for the bad photography, here, let me share the recipe!

Pumpkin Bars

2 C. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

4 beaten eggs

1 16 ounce can of pumpkin

1 1/2 C. white sugar

1 C. cooking oil

1 tsp. salt

Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Combine eggs, pumpkin, sugar and oil. Beat until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until combined. Spread batter in an ungreased 15X10X1" pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool and cover with cream cheese frosting.

Cream cheese frosting

1 6 ounce or 8 ounce package of cream cheese

1/2 C. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

2 or more C. of powdered sugar

Blend ingredients together until smooth. Add more icing sugar if you want it to be sweeter.

Package it all up cute & voila!

Tie Dye or Rainbow?

I found some pictures online the other day of what were called 'Neon Rainbow Cupcakes'. As soon as I saw the picture I knew I had to try it. And it was surprisingly easy!


Step 1: Using a white cake mix follow the instructions on the box in preparing the batter.
Step 2: Seperate the batter into 6 equal (or as equal as you can get them) parts.
Step 3: Using GEL icing dye, dye each part a different color (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple <- and to be honest the red was more of a neon pink). I read that using the GEL colors makes it more vibrant, but I'm sure that you can use just regular food coloring as well.
Step 4: put 1/2-3/4 of a tablespoon of one of the batters into each cupcake liner. Follow with additional colors. No need to swirl together, just let it fall in and land as it will.
Step 5: Bake as per box directions.
Step 6: decorate with icing & sprinkles if you want to!
Step 7: ENJOY!

I think one of the greatest things about these cupcakes is that each one is unique. Some have more of a color than another, and some have crazy patterns. This recipe can also be used for a cake as well. Just imagine the surprise when someone cuts into a plainly iced cake.

So there you have it. TIE DYE Cupcakes. (I think that suits it more than rainbow, what do you think?)