Pooches and pumpkins.

The five-year anniversary issue of Rachael Ray came this week, and there was a "staff favorite recipes" article that reintroduced me to cheesecake-filled pumpkin cupcakes. I knew I had to have them. A few days later, I had the perfect excuse: a Rachel visit!

I hate when recipes require this many dishes, but I had a Rachel to feed -- I wasn't backing down!

First I made the cheesecake filling, using fat free cream cheese. In terms of cooking, I don't think I can really taste the difference... Can you? Then I made the pumpkin cupcake batter, substituting applesauce for the oil. Then I layered them.

Plop.

While they were in the oven, I mixed up some frosting. The frosting in the actual recipe looked like a real pain, so I found a simpler recipe with fewer ingredients. I knew I wasn't going to put much frosting on the cupcakes anyway, so why waste the effort? I made this vanilla icing, but I used real butter, not butter substitute.

I had to add two additional tablespoons of milk to make it creamy, but otherwise, super easy. A little sweet for my personal taste, but no complaints from the peanut gallery.

They cooked a little funny -- they never flattened out any and came out looking much the same as when they went in.

I couldn't serve our special guest untested treats, so Brad and I broke into them last night.

The cheesecake filling wasn't as creamy as I thought it probably would have been. Perhaps I mis-thought, perhaps I overcooked by a minute or two. But the taste was there, and that's what matters, right? Deliciously pumpkiny, deliciously cheesecakey, with a light coat of sugary frosting on top. I felt safe serving them up today when Rachel and Keith stopped by.

The whole gang.

Georgie loves his Auntie Rachel.

What a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. A million hugs from all of us to Rachel for a lovely visit. We miss you already!