Insanely delicious pumpkin cupcakes with luscious homemade pumpkin spice buttercream frosting are put together to craft these incredible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes!

A group of pumpkin pie cupcakes on a wire rack.

If you’ve been in a baking mood, you may have found yourself in my cupcake part of the internet. I’ve been baking up a storm and my newest obsession- Coconut Cream Pie Cupcakes, anyone? Trust me, they’re so good.

The final result of this pumpkin pie cupcake creation is perfection. I love the flaky, sweet crust, followed by the mouthwatering pumpkin cupcake. The pie filling inside is a nice, sweet surprise. And the buttercream frosting?

It’s that final touch that makes these cupcakes a complete hit. They were gobbled up by my brood and my cousin’s family in less than a day! She couldn’t believe how quickly everyone ate them.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s like pumpkin pie in a cupcake form
The homemade frosting is incredible
Easy to scale your recipe to make even more cupcakes
Loved by kids and adults

Ingredients Needed

The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.

Pie Crust

Refrigerated pie crust
Milk
Sugar

Pumpkin Cupcakes

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Milk
Vanilla extract
Unsalted butter
Sugar
Eggs
Pumpkin puree
Pumpkin pie spice

Filling

Pumpkin pie filling – Not pumpkin puree!

Pumpkin Spice Buttercream

Unsalted butter
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Pumpkin pie spice
Salt

How To Make Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Pumpkin Crust

Step One: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using a small glass with an opening about the size of the bottom of a cupcake, cut the dough into 24 circles.
Step Two: Brush both sides of the pie crust with milk and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar.
Step Three: Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until just starting to cook. They are being parbaked, so they aren’t supposed to bake completely. Place on a cooling rack.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Step Four: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
Step Five: In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
Step Six: In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on low speed for about a minute until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and continue to mix on low. Add milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract and mix to combine.

Collage of mixing ingredients in a bowl.

Step Seven: Add the dry ingredients in three parts while mixing on low speed.

Collage of mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredinets in a bowl.

Step Eight: Place a pie crust round at the bottom of each cupcake liner. Fill with pumpkin cupcake batter about ¾ full. Bake for 25 to 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Collage of baking the cupcakes in the pan.

Pumpkin Spice Buttercream

Step Nine: Beat butter on low speed with a mixer. Slowly increase the speed to medium. Add sugar, one cup at a time, on low speed. Add vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Beat on low until combined.
Step Ten: Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 3 to 5 minutes until it’s whipped, fluffy, and creamy.

Collage of making the frosting in a bowl.

Assembly

Step Eleven: Using an apple corer or paring knife, cut a circle out for the pumpkin pie filling in the center of each cupcake. Be careful not to go too far down, or you’ll cut into the pie crust at the bottom. Save the cupcake piece you removed for step 3.
Step Twelve: Fill cupcakes with pumpkin pie filling with a small spoon.
Step Thirteen: Place the small cupcake piece you removed to close the top of the cupcake. You may need to break it in half to fit.
Step Fourteen: Frost the cupcakes using an icing bag and tip of choice. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice, if desired.

What to Serve with Them

These cupcakes are perfect desserts to enjoy alone or with other pumpkin treats.

Variations and Substitutions

Even though making these cupcakes requires a few extra steps, they’re still worth the effort. Plus, I took a few shortcuts by using the prepared pie crust dough and pumpkin pie filling. If you make your own, feel free to use that.
If you don’t want to make your own buttercream, you can use store-bought buttercream, add the pumpkin spice, and stir it until well-mixed. You can also trade out the pumpkin spice for a different frosting flavor for these Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes.

Storage Instructions

Leftover cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. The refrigerator may dry out the cupcakes, but the frosting, which contains perishable ingredients, needs to be refrigerated.

Can I Freeze?

Yup, you can freeze these cupcakes. If possible, I recommend storing the frosting separately from the cupcakes.

The frosting may change texture once frozen and thawed, so it may be better to freeze the cupcakes and then make a fresh batch of pumpkin spice frosting when you thaw them.

Try flash-freezing the cupcakes. Once they’re cool, place them on a baking sheet and freeze them before putting them in a container to freeze for up to 3 months. If you just toss them all in a container, they may freeze together and become difficult to separate and thaw later.

Remove the frozen cupcakes from the freezer and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, make a new batch of frosting, frost the cupcakes, and enjoy them again.

How Do you Fill the Cupcakes?

The cupcake is pumpkin flavored, and I filled it with pumpkin pie filling.

To make the holes in the cupcakes, I recommend using an apple corer to remove the “plug” or center of the cupcake.

Be very careful when removing it. Don’t push it out all the way, or you’ll hit the pie crust on the bottom. Slow and steady work best.

How Do I Make Pumpkin Spice?

The frosting is pumpkin spice buttercream. I made my own Pumpkin Pie Spice last year, so I’m using it in all my pumpkin-flavoured recipes this year.

If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy it at the store in the spice aisle. It’s super easy, though, and will last you a long time!

More Cupcake Recipes

Want some easy cupcake recipes to try on a baking spree? Here you go:

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Ingredients Needed