Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These are moist and delicious- my dog Milo LOVES these too; last year he ate 12 pumpkin cupcakes off the counter-- paper and all; he's looking like he wants a repeat of that action! The recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit. I like to add chopped walnuts on top of the frosting as well. This makes about 18 cupcakes.

2 cups flour
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups light brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2/3 cup sour cream
1 t vanilla

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/4 t vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350º and line muffin cups. With the paddle attachment or a whisk, mix the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, oil, sour cream, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt (you can mix these dry ingredients separately first if you choose) and mix just until combined. Bake for 23 minutes.

Cream the butter and cream cheese; add the vanilla and powdered sugar and frost the cooled cupcakes. You can top the cupcakes with nuts, colored sugar, crystallized ginger bits or just leave them plain.