Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

This may or may not be a belated Christmas post BUT chocolate and peppermint are delicious no matter the time of year. Boyfriend and I managed to tackle a grand total of seven Christmas events, and although I am incredibly proud of us, this left little time for blogging. Or cleaning my apartment, for that matter.



Boyfriend had an event at work and he was asked to bring dessert. Rather than letting him buy pre-made cookie dough or donuts, I decided this called for the brand new bottle of peppermint extract I had just bought.

Boyfriend got me Photoshop for Christmas, and I have had so much fun playing with it! I'm still getting a handle on the ins and outs, but if you ask me, it's already making a big difference in final product photos.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and have a happy new year!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
Cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix
Amount of eggs and water required by mix
Melted butter to substitute amount of oil required by mix

Frosting:
1 cup (2 cubes) butter, room temperature
2 tsp peppermint extract, separated
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cupcake liners
Red sprinkles

Directions
1. Preheat oven as instructed by boxed mix. Combine all ingredients for the cake and whip for 2-3 minutes, until lighter in color. Spoon into a cupcake tin lined with cupcake papers until each paper is about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven according to package instructions.
2. To start the frosting, whip butter until lighter in color. Add one teaspoon of the peppermint extract and whip to combine. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until frosting has reached desired consistency. Taste and continue adding peppermint extract 1/2 tsp at a time until it has reached desired flavor.
3. When cupcakes bounce back when poked they are finished baking. Let cool completely before frosting. Top with red sprinkles.