When to add spices/hops/fruit to a Coopers Extract Kit?

I am just getting started with brewing and I'm curious as to when I would add ingredients to Coopers extract brews. For example, I would like to make a pumpkin spice beer using the Coopers Wheat Beer as a base. Could I just brew the beer following the instructions and add the spices to taste when I transfer to the keg?

How about for adding hops? Since I normally wouldn't do a boil with these kits (besides boiling a gallon of water to mix with the extract in the bucket), and don't have a large brew pot, would it be ok to just throw the hops in for the desired amount of time with the gallon of water I boil and add to the fermentation bucket? Or is some interaction necessary between the malt and the hops?

How about adding fruit to these kits? For example, adding orange zest to a belgian wit.

Basically, I enjoy the simplicity of the Coopers kits and not having to do large boils, but I would still like to play with the kits and make some changes/enhancements.

have you seen this site:
http://www.geocities.com/lesjudith/Customize/CustomizeCoopers.html

I have made the rocky mountain brown a couple of times and it was good.

When ever I have made spiced beer I made the brew as the recipe called for then added the spice (vanilla, bourbon, oak, fruit) to the secondary vessel and let it age a few weeks.

I'm starting this spiced wheat beer in an hour or so, any help with the questions above?

This is how I'd do it. The water that you bring to a boil, let it boil a little longer (maybe 15 min or so) with the spices in it. That way you might avoid the possibility of getting an infection from the spices by 'sterilizing'.

I've added honey and steeped grains with the Cooper's Lager Kit 2 or 3 times and I always boil it in the water that you initially heat for adding the ingredients to.

That's how I do it.

i don't know anything about that kit, but re: hops -- why do you want to add them?
> hops need to be boiled with wort/extract for 60 minutes in order to get bitterness.
> you can add them to the boil at 30 minutes and later (including flame-out and dry-hopping) to get aroma and flavor.
see this: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-3.html
cheers, Wendy

Thank you all for your help!

@pint4pat: that website is great, exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

Just started the Coopers Australian Pale Ale, tasted it at a bar last week. Looking forward to comparing the two.