My First Made Up Baked Good

I'm definitely one of those people that cooks with a little bit of this and a dash of that, never measuring and usually making it up as I go along. I can usually recreate the dish again and again because I usually have the same instincts each time. Of course, I never bake like this since baking is an exact science. That is until today when I decided I was going to make up a baked good to use up some of my homemade pumpkin butter. I wasn't even sure what I was going for until I was done and I'm still not even sure what to call them. They are kind of like a mix of a light cake and a whoopie pie except they are so big that you couldn't eat two of them sandwiched together. I decided to keep them separated and poured a simple icing over the top to solve that problem. I'm taking suggestions for names but for now I'll call them Pumpkin Butter Mini Cakes and here's the recipe!

Pumpkin Butter Mini Cakes

Makes a bakers dozen

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups pumpkin butter (or apple butter would work I'm sure)

1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil of your choice (I used safflower)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 tbsp molasses

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. I usually mix it with a whisk or a fork instead of sifting.

In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin butter, soy milk, oil, brown sugar and molasses. Use a whisk to really mix it together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined trying not to overmix. The batter will be on the stiffer side. Use a muffin scoop (1/4 cup) and scrape up the side of the bowl as you go to make sure they are level scoops. Place on the baking sheet with about an inch or two of space between them. Bake for 14 minutes, or when a tooth pick comes out clean.

Let cool on a cooling rack at least 15-20 minutes before putting on the icing.

Simple Pumpkin Butter Icing

1 cup icing sugar

1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin butter

(or you can use 1 tbsp of apple cider)

Just mix the two together in a small bowl until you have a pourable icing. Pour a spoonful over each little cake once they have cooled a bit making sure to put the parchment you used on the cookie sheet under the cooling rack to catch the dripping icing. Enjoy!