By Halloween. We get about twelve trick-or-treaters in a normal year, which is what the county road delivers. I keep a bowl of candy near the door and the twelve children come and go in various costumes and I give them the good candy because life is short and they're small and they'll remember the houses that gave the good candy. That's a form of legacy that asks very little.
Tom Whelan's mule book manuscript is complete. He called Wednesday to say he'd written the last section and the book was done. He said it the same way he says everything: factual, without inflection, leaving you to respond to the fact rather than his opinion of it. I said: That's the second book, Tom. He said: I know. I said: Are you going to write a third? He said: I'm eighty-one years old. I said: I know.' He said: I'll see. That's the answer that means he's already thinking about it.
The Montana Farrier Association apprenticeship model has a pilot program beginning in January. Three apprentice-mentor pairs, a structured assessment framework, a six-month check-in process. Not everything I wanted — the bureaucracy of formal programs always gives you seventy percent of the ideal — but enough of the structure to be useful. The people who matter are in it. The knowledge will move.
Made butternut squash soup for Halloween, which feels right — the orange color, the warm spice, the season leaning into itself. Made it with a little smoked paprika and apple, served with crème fraîche. The kind of simple refinement that changes a basic recipe without complicating it.
The butternut squash soup was for the table, but I wanted something the twelve kids might carry home in their hands — or at least something for the counter when the night wound down and the bowl was empty and Tom’s manuscript and the apprenticeship program and all the small completions of the week sat quietly in the house with me. Warm spice felt like the right answer. The gingerbread cupcakes came together the same way the soup did: straightforward technique, honest ingredients, a small refinement — the vanilla cream cheese frosting — that lifts the whole thing without overcomplicating it. October deserves that kind of cooking.
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and brown sugar together with a hand mixer on medium-high speed for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and molasses. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the molasses and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth; the batter may look slightly separated — that is normal.
- Combine wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk (begin and end with flour). Mix only until just combined after each addition; do not overmix.
- Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low until incorporated, then increase to medium-high and beat for 1–2 minutes until fluffy.
- Frost and serve. Pipe or spread frosting generously onto each cooled cupcake. A light dusting of cinnamon or a small piece of candied ginger on top makes a nice finish. Serve the same day or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 47g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg