Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 12 regular-sized cupcake liners. Set aside.

Combine sugar, oil, water, eggs, and pumpkin puree in a large mixing bowl and beat on low for 1 minute. (You can also beat by hand, if preferred). Do not over mix.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add dry mixture to pumpkin batter and beat on low (or stir by hand) just until all ingredients are blended into the batter. Do not over mix.

With a large spoon, fill cupcake liners with batter until they are ¾ full. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle each muffin with coarse decorating sugar and return to oven to finish baking another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Total baking time should be 25-30 minutes).

Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes before moving muffins to wire baking rack to cool completely. Enjoy!