Step 1

Cream together both sugars with the butter until light and fluffy. (I totally made a mistake and only used 1 stick of butter. The recipe was great, but would have been even better with that extra stick. Oops.)

Step 2

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Step 3

I cannot stress enough what a difference freshly grated nutmeg makes.

Step 4

Add the eggs one at a time. Look very serious while your sister is adding the eggs. Serious = adorable.

Step 5

Add the applesauce.

Step 6

Mix it all together.

Step 7

Add in the dry ingredients. Fold in the nuts by hand. Put the cupcake batter into lined muffin tins. We used red liners to make them look even more like apples. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

Step 8

Beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and beat until combined.

Step 9

Now that I am thinking about it, a sprinkle of cinnamon in that frosting would have been a really good idea.

Step 10

Using a sharp knife or a cookie cutter, cut some leaf shapes out of the Fruit Roll Up.

Step 11

Frost the cupcake with the Brown Sugar Buttercream.

Step 12

Sprinkle the red sanding sugar generously on the cupcake. (I think that it works better to dip the cupcake in the sugar, it covers the cupcake better that way.) Stick the pretzel in for the stem and add a leaf.