Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin pie in cupcake form. Warmly spiced and topped with a sweet and cinnamony rum frosting.
My first grade teacher made cupcakes into "cupcake sandwiches" but taking off the bottom and putting it on top, with the icing in the middle. I thought it was an ingenius idea...
...and I still do. A surefire way to get frosting in every bite and not all over your face.

Pumpkin Cupcakes and Spiced Rum Frosting

1 cup pumpkin puree (ours was from a fresh cooked pumpkin but canned would also work)
1/3 cup oil
generous 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend (or cloves, nutmeg, and ginger)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease.
2. Combine the wet ingredients.
3. Add the dry ingredients, mixing gently to combine, and fold in chocolate chips.
4. Fill muffin cups 1/2 to 3/4 full and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Let cool completely and then frost with...

Spiced Rum Frosting

1/2 cup butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp spiced rum (such as Captain Morgan's)
1 tsp cinnamon
soymilk as needed

1. Mix all ingredients together until a firm frosting consistency, adding more confectioner's sugar or soymilk as needed to thicken or thin the frosting.
2. Spoon into a decorating bag and pipe all over the cupcakes!

Addictive Crackers

Checking Bittersweet blog as I do daily, I saw the new recipe for vegan cheesy crackers, using a new product: "We Can't Say It's Cheese". I sighed, sure that this was another expensive ingredient I wouldn't find feasible to purchase. Coming home from work that day, however, I found my mother and sister baking potatoes - as a canvas for something they saw at the grocery store: none other than "We Can't Say It's Cheese"! A week later, my sister left for college and half a container of the vegan cheese spread was left...so I decided to finally make this recipe. The crackers turned out to be thoroughly addicting, whether with hummus, cheese, or on their own. Luckily it's a healthy addiction.

"Cheese" Crackers

adapted from Hannah Kaminsky's Bittersweet blog

4 Ounces (Half a Container) “We Can’t Say It’s Cheese”

1 Tablespoon Whole Flax Seeds, Ground
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3/4 Teaspoon Table Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Sweet Paprika
1/8 Teaspoon Turmeric
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
Pinch Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the “cheese” spread, ground flax seeds, and olive oil thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the remaining dry ingredients, until the mixture is homogeneous and the spices are well distributed. Add this whole mixture into the mix of wet ingredients. Mix until the dough comes together. It may take some time, so be patient, and do not add extra liquid to the dough (although I will admit I added a little bit of olive oil). Using your hands may help.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out very thin, to about 1/8th of an inch. Use any cookie cutter you desire. Transfer cut crackers to your prepared baking sheets, and re-roll scraps, cutting more crackers, until the dough is used up. Bake each sheet individually for 10 – 15 minutes, until very so slightly puffy and dry to the touch. They won’t really brown, so don’t panic if they don’t become golden around the edges. Let cool completely on the sheets, and store in air-tight containers at room temperature.

Enjoy with more "cheese" spread, hummus, any other item kicking around your fridge, or alone.