This Easy Recipe For Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes Is Actually Healthy And Now We Know Heaven Really Does Exist

I feel like it’s pretty common knowledge that if you don’t eat bananas within a week they will turn disgustingly brown and inedible. Well apparently, my ten roommates didn’t get the memo because it seems like we always have a plethora of brown bananas lurking around my kitchen. What many people don’t know is I am getting a minor in Family and Consumer Science Education. In laymen’s terms, I’m minoring in Home Economics. I always know when my mom is talking about me to her friends because without fail I get a text from her asking, “what’s the real name of your minor, the housewife one.” So my less domesticated roommates will come to me with their disgustingly brown bananas and ask if they can still eat them. I always give them the same answer: not unless you’re going to use them by making banana bread. Many people don’t know the power of an over ripe banana in baking. They make baked goods super, extra moist without adding additional fat or too much flavor. So I am putting a stand to these perfectly good baking aids going to waste. I have probably made more banana breads than I can count and seriously yawn at the thought of it. So, last night I decided to mix it up and get into the fall spirit. Here is my recipe for “Easy As Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes With Cinnamon Frosting.” You can’t really taste the bananas but they make all the difference in the texture of the cake. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 box of French Vanilla Cake Mix
3 whole eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
3 overripe bananas
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie seasoning

Frosting:

2 (16 oz) cans of vanilla frosting
1½ teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 muffin tins with 24 liners.
2. In a mixing bowl, cut up the bananas into small pieces. Then add the eggs, vegetable oil, water, cake mix and pumpkin pie seasoning. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes (I used a hand mixer. But, if you don’t have a mixer, mash up the bananas with a fork before you add the other ingredients and whisk batter for 2 minutes).
3. Scoop 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup (I used an ice cream scooper for consistent and easy scooping).
4. Bake in oven for 12 to 17 minutes. Each oven can be different, so check the cupcakes regularly. Mine baked for approx. 15 mins. A toothpick or knife inserted in the center of the cupcake should come out clean when they are baked through.
5. While the cupcakes are baking, put the 2 cans of frosting in a mixing bowl and combine with cinnamon. It’s easiest to use a rubber spatula.
6. Fill a plastic sandwich bag with the cinnamon frosting and make a small cut on the corner of the baggy for easy decorating. I put my plastic sandwich bag in a plastic cup (shown below) and filled it with frosting that way. You will probably have to repeat this step a few times when icing the cupcakes unless you have a gallon sized plastic bag.

7. When the cupcakes are baked, immediately transfer the pans to the freezer for 15 minutes to allow them to cool.
8. Once cooled, remove cupcakes from the pans and swirl the frosting on the top of the cupcakes.
9. Share with all your friends and enjoy! No one will ever know you used a mix… Your secret’s safe with me. .