Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

I frost my Applesauce Pecan Cupcakes with this.  I LOVE this icing.  I could eat it all by itself.

¼ cup butter, at room temperature

¾ cup cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp half and half cream

Confectioners sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese, until soft and well combined. 

Beat in brown sugar, and once combined add vanilla extract and half and half. 

Add confectioners sugar ¼ cup at a time, or more brown sugar, until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Applesauce Pecan Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe was perfect for girls night!  I felt like I could eat more and not feel guilty about it because there was a lot of apple sauce in the cake.

I have made them again since then, and they are a HUGE hit!


Cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

¼ tsp salt

½ cup margarine

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 ½ cups unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir flour, soda, salt, and spices in a small bowl. 

In a separate larger bowl, cream butter with sugar, then add eggs one at a time.
Add apple sauce and chopped pecans and mix.
Once combined, softly fold in flour mixture until combined. Don't beat it to hard as you don't want a lot of air bubbles in the cupcakes.
Pour the batter into a greased and lined muffin pan.

Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until done (poke with toothpick in the middle and it should come out clean).

Let cupcakes cool and ice with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.
If you have more pecans, top the ice cupcake with them.

First Time

Second Time