Pumpkin Pie Alternatives: Sprinkles Pumpkin Cupcakes Review

Confession: I do not like pumpkin pie. This might be Thanksgiving blasphemy, but there it is.

Year after year, all I really do is eat the whipped cream off the top and push the pie around my plate. As a result, for the past few years I have been looking for a replacement that still brings rich pumpkin flavor and fills the house with those harvest time scents.  So, I thought I'd try out Sprinkles' Pumpkin Cupcakes.

As you might remember, I love the Sprinkles' vanilla cupcakes mix, but these leave me feeling a little unsatisfied. These cupcakes are filled with savory spice notes like cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and topped with a sweet cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I found that it tasted more like a pumpkin spice muffin or bread. I'm not complaining about that, but some might not feel like it's sweet enough to replace pumpkin pie.

However, these cupcakes to have the best pumpkin flavor I have had from a "boxed" mix. It tastes like I actually used fresh pumpkin! The cupcakes are topped off with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, that is super tasty and festive. It made me wonder...why I've never thought to flavor cream cheese frosting before! In the end, the combination of savory cake and sweet frosting, there is a nice balance of flavors

Verdict: I would serve these for Thanksgiving, but would definitely offer additional sweet treats to create a dessert spread to please everyone.

Here are some other alternatives to pumpkin pie that I enjoy:

Ina Garten's Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream 
My Pumpkin Eggnog Ice Cream
William's Sonoma Pumpkin Dessert Squares (my photo does not do it justice!)
Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping
Kelsey's Pumpkin Crumb Cake
or go pick up some of Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake

What are your pumpkin pie alternatives?