Halloween Pumpkin Spiced Applesauce Spider Cupcakes are a fun, seasonal dessert that your kids will not only have fun making, but eating too. The secret to the flavor in the cupcakes comes from the applesauce.

A closeup of a cupcake in a spider web muffin cup topped with a large plastic spider with mini orange pumpkins around

There is only one season I look forward to as much as Christmas and that is fall. What’s not to love? The cooler weather (I live in the Arizona desert, you understand) pumpkins, Halloween and all of the fall produce,  in particular the apples.

With Halloween, applesauce and pumpkins on my mind, all of these were factors that inspired me to come up with these cupcakes. Applesauce is a delicious and seasonal way to add moisture and natural sweetness to these cupcakes.

5 spider cupcakes on a black cake stand with some cupcakes underneath

Just as an aside, as you may need to fend off your neighbors, my kitchen smelled like pumpkin pie when the cupcakes were baking.

The frosting for the cupcakes is cream cheese with a little pumpkin pie spice to mirror the pumpkin spice in the applesauce and drive home the pumpkin/fall feeling.

Plastic spiders on top of cupcakes viewed from overhead with black roses and a mini pumpkin

I had a lot of fun with these cupcakes. I have many Halloween-themed recipes on my website from skulls to scorpions and now spiders.

Check out these other fun, Halloween recipes (click on text for links) Halloween Brownie Graveyard, Skull and Dagger CakeHalloween Popcorn.

If you’ve tried this Halloween Pumpkin Spiced Applesauce Spider Cupcakes or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how they turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

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Yield: 12 cupcakes

Halloween Pumpkin Spiced Applesauce Spider Cupcakes

A closeup showing the spiderweb cupcake liner, creamy frosting and large spider decoration

Fluffy cupcakes flavored with pumpkin spiced applesauce with pumpkin spice frosting are made spooky for Halloween with fake spiders.

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the cupcakes:
  • ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¾ cup applesauce
  • 1 ¾ (162 grams) cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½  teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
  • For the frosting:
  • 8 ounces (225 grams)  cream cheese, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
  • ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (260 grams) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

  1. For the cupcakes:
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Line a 12-muffin tin with liners.
  3. To a bowl add the butter and sugar. Beat on high until light and pale using an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until mixed. Mix in the applesauce. Add the flour, baking powder, pumpin pie spice and salt to a separate bowl and mix well. With the mixer on low add little dry mix to the wet mix, alternate with a little milk until all the flour and milk are used. Mix until well-combined and smooth. Don't over mix. Use an ice cream scoop and divide the batter between all the cups, a little over halfway filled.
  4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. When a toothpick inserted in the center it should come out clean.
  5. Remove from the oven, remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
  6. For the frosting:
  7. Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer, add the vanilla, mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar while beating. Add the pumpkin pie spice and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to make topping the cupcakes easier.
  8. Top the cooled cupcakes with the frosting.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 182Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 53mgSodium 335mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 7g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.