Captain Morgan Apple Cider Cupcakes

I have a confession.... I hate fall! I know, I know, it seems like everyone and their brother acts like these are the best months of the year, but for me it just isn't true. There are a few things I do enjoy like college football, bonfires, cider mills, and dressing up for Halloween but that is about it. Most of fall I battle with the extreme sadness that the glorious summer is now over and the dread that winter is just a few dead leaves away from hitting. How do I get through these feelings..... booze of course (and hibernation but that is only after the snow hits HA)!

Living in the mitten state we are bombarded with an absurd amount of apples so a staple of almost any tailgate or gathering is cider and booze! Thanks to my besties being obsessed with Captain Morgan it is always around and usually our go to during these chilly few months. This last weekend was my first tailgate of the season at the University of Minnesota homecoming game. I knew I wanted to bring a tasty treat and figured there was no better thing to bring then boozy cupcakes!

After searching for a few recipes online I really couldn't find any that perfectly matched what I wanted so I took this recipe from Neighbor Food (which I loved because she used a box mix) and doctored it up do add in my favorite Captain Morgan flavor.  To say they went quick is an understatement, once I explained what they were they were gone and everyone loved them.  Hopefully these will be a hit at your fall gathering!

Captain Morgan Apple Cider Cupcakes

 

 

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 box vanilla cake mix

2 tsp cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

Dash ginger

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 eggs

1/2 cup apple cider

1/2 cup Captain Morgan rum

 

For the frosting:

1 package cream cheese softened

1/4 butter softened

2 tsp apple cider

2 tsp Captain Morgan run

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

 

Directions

For the cake:

1) Mix together dry ingredients including boxed cake mix, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger

2) Stir in remaining ingredients until smooth

3) Divide amongst 24 lined cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees according to the package directions

 

For the frosting:

1) Mix together all ingredients with electric mixer adding in powdered sugar only a cup at a time

2) Using a pastry bag, knife, or fancy ziplock bag with cut off corner technique (which I totally did) frost cooled cupcakes

3) Enjoy!

 

Extras

-I used apple cider concentrate from Williams-Sonoma to give the cupcakes more of an apple taste, if you don't have it no worries you just might not have as strong of a flavor

-To make these kid friendly just replace the rum with apple cider