Apple butter cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are soft, moist spiced cupcakes topped with a whipped cinnamon apple cream cheese frosting. This is surprisingly simple cupcake is perfect for fall and the holiday season.

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I love to bake any time of year, but fall and the holiday season just really kicks my love of whipping up a homemade batch of treats into high gear.

And I love nothing more than the scent of the seasonal flavors wafting through the air.

Rich, earthly flavors and spices that speak straight to your soul.

Cozy, comforting aromas and flavors that these apple butter cupcakes pack really pack in.

These take seasonal eating to a whole new level and will wow after a day of pumpkin picking, Thanksgiving, or at the end of a holiday dinner.

Ingredients

To make them you’ll need a set of ingredients for the apple butter cupcakes themselves and another for the cream cheese frosting.

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

Butter– Unsalted butter softened to room temperature
Sugar– Granulated
Sour cream– Use full fat
Egg whites
Vanilla extract– Use real vanilla for the best flavor.
Flour– All purpose
Baking powder
Salt
Apple butter– Either homemade apple butter or store (or orchard!) bought is fine
Milk– Again whole is best

For the cream cheese frosting you’ll need:

Cream cheese– Full fat cream cheese softened to room temperature
Butter– Unsalted butter softened to room temperature
Powdered sugar– Sifted
Apple Butter- Whatever kind you used in the batter
Vanilla– Real vanilla extract
Cinnamon
Apple chips– For garnish

How to Make

Let’s break this down into a few parts:

Making the cupcakes
Making the frosting
Decorating the cupcakes

To Make the Cupcakes

To make the apple butter cupcakes, cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

Once the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract until they are well incorporated.

Beat in half the egg whites until evenly incorporated and then repeat with the second half.

Turn of the mixer while you get the rest of the batter together.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Then, in a separate small bowl, stir together the apple butter and milk until smooth.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and egg white mixture and beat until well combined.

Then beat in the apple butter mixture and mix until well combined.

Add in the rest of the dry ingredients and again mix until everything’s incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Line a cupcake pan with liners and scoop the batter into the cavities, filling each about half way full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cooked cupcakes from the oven to cool.

After the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes, transfer them to wire cooling racks to finish cooling completely.

To Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the room temperature cream cheese and room temperature butter together until the mixture is fluffy and smooth.

Then, beat in half of the powdered sugar mixing until the frosting is smooth and all the sugar incorporated.

Stir in the apple butter, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

Finish the frosting by beating in the rest of the sugar, mixing until evenly incorporated.

Decorating the Cupcakes

Once the cupcakes are cooled and you’ve made the frosting, scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with your choice of icing tip or a large baggie with the corner snipped off.

Pipe a generous dollop of frosting onto each cooled cupcake.

Top each frosted cupcake with a dried apple chip.

Serve and enjoy!

Storing

Store cupcakes in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to enjoy!

The cupcakes will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.

Tips and Tricks

Make sure to let the butter for the batter and the butter and the cream cheese for the icing come to room temperature first. I like to pull my ingredients out of the fridge a couple hours before baking. Cold ingredients just don’t incorporate well.
Be careful not to overmix the cupcake batter. Overmixing will result in dense chewy cupcakes.
Make sure to let the cupcakes cool fully before piping on the frosting. If the cupcakes are still warm, the frosting will melt off.
The apple chip garnish is optional but gives the cupcakes a pretty, professional look.
You could also sprinkle on a dusting of cinnamon to garnish the cupcakes.

Other Apple Cakes and Cupcakes

Apple butter cupcakes are delicious seasonal dessert that make a sweet ending to any fall or holiday occasion.

Make them and enjoy!

Looking for other apple cakes and cupcakes?

Try these:

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