Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

A poem and a treat to inspire your Halloween Spirits

Three Little Ghostesses

Three little ghostesses
Sitting on postesses,
Eating buttered toastesses,
Greasing their fistesse,
Up to their wristesses,
Oh, what beastesses
To make such feastesse!

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Each month a senior group meets for bingo and lunch. We always have a theme going (you can tell that my co-chair and I are former teachers). Our Halloween gathering is their favorite. This group loves getting dressed up and winning prizes. We served chili, chips and a salad. But it was the dessert that was my favorite treat. It was a simple Betty Crocker recipe with yummy penuche frosting. Adding orange sherbet made it all even better.     

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

Cook's notes: The cake can be made in a 13 x 9 pan or as cupcakes. It is dense moist cake with lots of flavor.  

Cake ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups of flour
• 1-1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
•  1/2 tsp. salt
• 1-1/3 cups applesauce 
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup chopped peeled apple
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Cake directions:

• Preheat oven @ 350 and grease pan
• In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt
• Add in applesauce, oil  and eggs
• beat on low speed till ingredients moistened
• Beat on high for two minutes
• Fold in apples, raisins  and walnuts
• Pour into pan
• Bake 13 x 9 pan about 26 minutes-cupcakes 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center 

 Penuche Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 TB. butter
• 1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk (may need more)
• dash salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

• In a saucepan melt butter on low heat, stir in brown sugar, milk, salt and vanilla
• Cook and stir on low heat till sugar dissolved and smooth about 1-2 minutes
• Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar
• Use a mixer beating till smooth in the saucepan (may need some milk for right consistency)