Fall is my favorite season. I love the mild weather, the gorgeous colors of the changing leaves, and the warm, comforting smell and taste of fall’s most popular flavor — pumpkin spice.

Of course, aside from the satisfying fall flavor, the best thing about Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte is the coffee! When I said this cupcake is the edible version of a pumpkin spice latte, I meant it.

I haven’t made it a secret that I’m a coffee lover. I’ve been sharing recipes for this Nutella Frappuccino and this Hazelnut Frappuccino.

AND I have an espresso frosted brownie coming up soon! For me, the addition of coffee as an ingredient in my kitchen has been a wonderful part of my foodie creations.

I also love drinking it. (Daily)

And I’m equally obsessed with fall. as you can see since I’ve been baking up Pull Apart Pumpkin Bread and putting together Mini Indian Harvest Pumpkin bundles.

 These Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes are a great copycat of the popular Starbucks fall drink. The pumpkin, coffee, and spices go together so well. And who can resist a cute cupcake with a fun straw?

Fall seems to be all about the Pumpkin Spice. While I love a piping hot coffee as much as anyone, what if you could combine all those flavors into a baked good?

Well I just did! These Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes  contain real pumpkin and a punch of real coffee. You may want to eat these pumpkin spice cupcakes for breakfast, and that’s fine with me. No judging here!

So now you can have your Pumpkin Spice Latte, and eat it too.

I hope that everyone enjoys these as much as we did! We’re looking forward full of pumpkin festivities this weekend. Hopefully, we’ll be painting/carving pumpkins, provided that we can find the perfect pick.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes 

 Ready to get started? Okay, first make sure you have all the necessary ingredients.

Ingredients Needed for the Cupcakes:

• 1 box of Perfectly Pumpkin Cake Mix
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter (softened)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup strong coffee
• Fall cupcake liners

Ingredients Needed for the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
• Paper straws and pumpkin pie spice for decoration

Step 1: Prepare

Before we get to baking, we need to preheat the oven (set it to 350 degrees). We also need to line two muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Step 2: Make Cake Batter

Next, combine all of the cupcake ingredients EXCEPT the coffee in the bowl of your stand mixer. If you don’t have one, you can simply use a large bowl and regular hand mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about two minutes). Now it’s time to add the coffee. Stir it into the batter to slowly incorporate it.

Step 3: Bake Cupcakes

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes. You’ll know the cupcakes are done when you can insert a knife into the center of one and it comes out clean.

Step 4: Prepare Frosting

Set the cupcakes aside on a wire rack to cool while you make the frosting.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed for 2 minutes using your machine’s whisk attachment. Then, add the vanilla extract and four cups of powdered sugar. If the frosting is too thin, slowly add more powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency.

Step 5: Frost Cupcakes

Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them, otherwise, you’ll end up with a runny mess.

Once they’re completely cool to the touch, spoon the frosting into a Ziploc bag (you can also use pastry bags if you have them) and snip off the corner. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake.

Finally, insert a straw into each cupcake and sprinkle on some pumpkin pie spice. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes Recipe

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Yield: 24

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

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These pumpkin spice latte cupcakes are the perfect autumn dessert. The best fall drink as a cupcake!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 box of Perfectly Pumpkin Cake Mix
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 C. unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 C. whole milk
• 1/2 C. sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 C. strong coffee

Cream Cheese Frosting

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• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 C. butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4-5 C. powdered sugar
• straws and pumpkin pie spice for decoration

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
   
2. Combine cake mix, butter, eggs. milk, cinnamon, vanilla, sour cream in a large standing mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
   
3. Stir in coffee (make it as strong as you want your "latte" cupcakes to be).
   
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 16-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
   
5. Let cool.
   
6. Beat cream cheese and butter for 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and slowly add in powdered sugar until thickened.
   
7. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice and top with a straw.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 520Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 116mgCarbohydrates: 101gFiber: 0gSugar: 98gProtein: 2g

Prefer the pumpkin spice mocha latte? You’re going to LOVE these Pumpkin Spice Mocha Latte Cookies!