It seems like the only time of the year I make anything with canned pumpkin is Thanksgiving.

This year was exceptional, too, since, in addition to a pumpkin cheesecake, I made pumpkin soup with apples, carrots and onions.

And then I was stuck with half a can of pumpkin puree.

What now?

Turns out, you can whip up a pretty nice cupcake with just half a cup of the pureed squash.

So if you’ve got some canned pumpkin to spare, here’s a great recipe to use those leftovers — after Thanksgiving and, really, all year long:

Pumpkin Cupcakes
Adopted from The Neelys

Ingredients

Pumpkin cupcakes:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. canned pure pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Maple cream cheese frosting:
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese
2 T. butter, at room temperature
2 T. pure maple syrup
2 c. powdered sugar
Chopped toasted pecans, for topping, optional

Directions:

For the pumpkin cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 (12-cup) muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter and the sugar. Beat with a hand-held mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and the vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting .

For the cream cheese frosting: Add the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, and salt to a large bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar until thoroughly combined.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting and chopped pecans, if you want.

Makes 12 cupcakes