autumn colors and pumpkin bread turned muffins

This is my favorite tree in the fall.  I drive by it every day on the way out of my neighborhood.  I had to stop today and get a picture.

There are so many different colors in there - I just love it!

I bought this mum last spring.  After it bloomed and died I kind of neglected it for a while.  Then my mom suggested I put it in my flower bed.  It kind of just sat there all summer and early fall.  A couple of weeks ago the buds started coming out on it.

They really are pretty, unassuming little flowers.

I have yet to get my sewing area back in order.  I have a project I can do by hand for sew & tell tomorrow, but I'll keep it a secret.  Instead of sewing I've been baking today.  I used my SIL's (Laura) recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip bread and turned them into muffins (Go bug her to post her recipe and to finish her Amy Butler yoga bag for sew & tell this week!)

But let's be serious.  They aren't muffins - they're cupcakes.

Especially when you make pumpkin cream cheese icing to put on top.

And I'm perfectly okay with that.

You can pretty much use any pumpkin bread recipe.  Mine made 12 regular sized muffins (20 minutes @ 350), 1 mini muffin pan full (13 minutes @ 350), and two smaller loaves (probably should have been 3.... still trying to bake through the middle, it's been 45 min.  Final time: 50 min.)

I had some pumpkin cream cheese from the deli and added a little butter and powdered sugar to make the icing.  Delish.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Icing
1/3 C pumpkin cream cheese (whipped or softened)
2 Tbsp melted butter (makes for easy hand blending, no hand mixer required)
1/3 C powdered sugar
dash or more cinnamon
Blend together with a fork and dip mini cupcakes directly into bowl and eat immediately spread on cooled cupcakes.