Pumpkin Everything Mini-Cakes

Nothing says "fall" like cooking with pumpkin. I was overwhelmed by all the pumpkin and halloween-themed items at the store, and I figured I'd pick up a few that looked good and see what happened. These are very thick, almost like a muffin, and have a pumpkin oreo baked right inside (normal oreos should do  the trick if you can't find any). They are pretty easy and a lot of fun to make, making them a great autumn treat! Also, surprise! There's no sugar in the dough, which means they're healthy, right?

Pumpkin Everything Mini-Cakes:

•2 1/2 cups flour (I use whole wheat, but all-purpose will work)

•1/2 cup vegetable oil

•1/2 maple syrup

•1 can pumpkin pie filling

•1 tsp. vanilla

•1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

•1/2 tsp baking powder

•1/2 tsp baking soda

•1/2 tsp salt

•1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

•One pumpkin oreo for each cake, plus crushed ones for tops (can find at Trader Joe's)

•1/2 cup pumpkin butter

•Rice whip or vegan frosting equivalent

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Set aside

Combine oil, syrup, and vanilla in another bowl and mix well. Add flour mixture and combine, then stir in the pumpkin. Mix in chocolate chips.

Mixture should be thick and cakey. Put a spoonful of the mixture in each section of a cupcake pan, then put an oreo on the top of each spoonful and press down. The pan should look something like this:

Then put enough dough in each section to completely cover the oreo. They will rise a bit, but not as much as a normal cupcake, so fill them to about the top. Spoon a bit of pumpkin butter onto the tops of each cake, then bake about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. When they come out they should look like this!

Let them cool and then cover with whip cream, frosting, crushed oreos, or whatever else you want and then serve right away!