Gingerbread Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting

I am always excited for fall, when pumpkin everything comes out. One of my favorite things this year is the Little Debbie Pumpkin Spice Rolls. I think that I could seriously eat the whole box in a day! The only thing that I have found that I don’t like is pumpkin spice creamer. I just could not do the pumpkin coffee thing!

These cupcakes are the perfect fall treat! The pumpkin butter cream frosting is simply amazing! And the not too sweet gingerbread is a perfect match.

How adorable are these Wilton decorations, cupcake holders, and spatula ! They were perfect for making these cupcakes.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1/2 cup Molasses

1 cup boiling water

Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon. 

Mix butter, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Then add to flour mixture.

Add the boiling water and stir.

Pour into liners and bake at 350 degrees for 15 – 18 minutes. Do not over bake.

Pumpkin Butter Cream

¼ cup butter, softened

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp Vanilla

3 ½ - 4 cups confectioners sugar

Mix the butter, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the confectioners sugar one cup at a time, mixing after each. Use the amount of confectioners sugar that you need to get desired consistency.

Garvan Woodland Gardens (Fall ) Hot Springs, Arkansas

Garvan Woodland Gardens is a 210-acre botanical garden nestled in the Ouachita Mountains of Southwest Arkansas. It is located along the shoreline of the beautiful Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs.

Every season brings something new to see at the garden. Right now, Autumn in the Woodlands and the Mum Fest are in full swing with thousands of chrysanthemum blooming throughout the gardens.

There are surprises around every corner.

The Fall season is from September 1- November 18 for this year.

 Paved paths will lead you over several unique bridges, around waterfalls, and along ponds filled with large coy fish.

The Christmas season starts in the middle of November, so you can see where they have already started stringing the lights and getting ready for it. Christmas at the gardens is amazing!

Location is:

550 Arkridge Rd, 

Hot Springs, AR 71913

Hours are:

Open Every Day:

February 1 through November 18, 2016

9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Last admission sold at 5:30 p.m.

Holiday Hours: November 19 through December 31, 2016

Noon - 9 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.

Admission Fees:

Adults (age 13 and up)   $15.00  

Children 6-12     $5.00    

Children to age 5    Free

Happy Travels! 

Caesars Head State Park - South Carolina

Caesars Head State Park is located in Cleveland, South Carolina. The Park gets its name from a rock outcropping on top of the Blue Ridge cliff.

We visited this park towards the end of a long trip through the mountains of North Carolina. We were so glad to find a place with amazing views that didn’t require a 3 mile hike up steep terrain! :)

To get to the Caesars Head overlook does not require any hiking. It is only a few hundred feet from the parking area.

The overlook provides a great view of Table Rock Lake.

If you are up for a hike, the Raven Cliff Falls trail leads to 420-foot waterfall. A suspension bridge allows access to two overlooks to the falls. The trail is about 4 miles round trip. Maybe next time we will be up for the hike.

This park is a great place to visit, especially in the Fall. The views and fall foliage are beautiful! 

Happy Travels! 

The Dallas Arboretum (Pumpkin Houses) - Dallas, Texas

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is a 66-acre botanical garden located on the shores of White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas.

The Nationally Acclaimed Pumpkin Village is the biggest autumn attraction at the Arboretum. It is one-acre filled with 90,000 pumpkins, gourds, squash, bales of hay and cornstalks skillfully arranged into houses, walkways, and other fun structures.

The village has been featured in magazines such as SouthernLiving and House Beautiful.

The Village was very cute and the Gardens are beautiful, but there were two things that I didn’t like.

We went at 9am on a Sunday morning thinking that it would be the least crowded time. This was defiantly not the case. There were so many people that it was hard to even walk without getting bumped in to!  I asked the lady at the information desk if there would be a better time to come back that it would not be so crowded. She informed me that it was like that all the time and that there was not a good time. She said that they even have to close the parking lot at times. So, keep that in mind!

The other thing that I didn’t like was that in addition to paying $15 a person to get in, you have to pay $15 to park. That probably would not have bothered me so much if we would not have had such a long walk from the parking lot to the entry and if it would not have been so crowded.

The majority of the crowding was around the pumpkin village, so the other areas of the garden were more relaxing.

Location:

8617 Garland Road

 Dallas, Texas 75218

Admission Fees:

Adult general garden admission (13-64): $15

Seniors general garden admission (65 & over): $12

Children general garden admission (3-12): $10

Children general garden admission (2 & under): Free

On-site self parking or parking garage: $15

The gardens are beautiful and the Pumpkin Village was fun. Hopefully your visit will be less crowded and relaxing!   

Happy Travels!