Pumpkin Cupcakes

First of all, let me just say that Fall is wonderful. When we visited Nick's Mom last, she gave us a huge bag of pecans and I got the idea to use them to top cupcakes. And what better flavor of cupcakes to go with pecans than pumpkin? (Although I have to admit that my original thought was to go with persimmon).

So I found a simple-looking carrot cake recipe, replaced the carrot with pumpkin (from a can, not a pumpkin-- I'm not that cool) made some cream cheese frosting, and then topped the cupcakes off with a pecan.

 

Mr. Nicholas says he might keep me around if I keep making yummy things like this. My kitchen might want me to go somewhere else, though, because it tends to be in a bit of disarray every time I bake...

 

Perhaps I could use some more counter space?

One important thing about the cupcakes-- they were best on the same day they were made (which I'm sure is true of most baked goods) but a regular cake recipe makes about three dozen cupcakes (which is way too much to eat in one day).