Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with some mint chocolate chip cupcakes! This recipe is a classic and the minty green frosting makes its perfectly festive for an Irish holiday.

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

~*~ Makes 15 Cupcakes ~*~

Ingredients for Chocolate Cake:

• 1 stick Butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 Cup Flour
• 1 tbs Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1 tbs Vanilla

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is soft, then add sugar. Beat about 3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until they are well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk them until they are well combined
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat it just to combine.
6. Add the liquids (milk & vanilla), scrape down bowl and beat to combine.
7. Continue adding the dry ingredients. Beat for another minute till smooth
8. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20-22 minutes.

Mint Buttercream

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of room temperature butter (it’s very important they are room temp)
• 3 cups of powdered sugar (no need to sift)
• 1 tbs of cream of tartar
• 6 tbs of Half and Half
• 1/2 cup of thawed cool whip
• 1/4 tsp mint extract (use a little more depending on how “minty” you want it)
• 2 drops of green food coloring

Directions:

1. Beat the butter in your mixer until very creamy. You will need to scrape the bowl several times
2. Adding one cup of powdered sugar at a time, mix in with the butter.
3. Add the half and half and mint extract. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes (be patient!)
4. Add the cream of tartar, food color and cool whip.
5. Mix on medium high for another 3-4 minutes.

I like to decorate my cupcakes with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. It’s also a nice touch to bake them in some festive cupcake liners.

There you have it, an easy and delicious way to celebrate the luck of the Irish!

Stay Sweet!

xoxo, Jill

Monday Pick-Me-Up Cupcake

Coffee Cupcakes!

Alright, as promised, here is a yummy cupcake recipe to kick off your week right!

Dark Chocolate Coffee Bean Cupcakes

Cupcake:

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup and 2 tbs of whole milk  
• 1/3 cup strongly brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line Cupcake Pan with liners
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
• In a mixer on medium speed, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add in the milk, coffee, and melted butter.
• Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients.
• Bake for 15 minutes.

Frosting

• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 2tbs of brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar – add more for a thicker consistency

Directions:

1. Cream Butter and powdered sugar in a mixer on medium high speed.
2. Mix together instant coffee, brewed coffee, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla extract
3. Add to mixer and whisk on medium high for about 3 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
4. Put in piping bag and frost your cupcakes
5. Garnish with coffee beans or chocolate shavings if desired

The perfect morning pick-me up or after dinner treat! Enjoy!

Xoxo,

Jill

**Image courtesy of http://ladylorien.tumblr.com/page/2 **

EASY Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Only 5 days left!!!

Happy Monday! Its officially the week before Christmas! Most of us are running around like maniacs trying to get the perfect (not to mention very last-minute) gifts for our family members, trying to make the house semi-presentable  for visitors, putting on a half baked grin for your in-laws, and scouring the house for that darn scotch tape that you “swore  you saved from last Christmas”.

So today, I am offering you a 30 minute semi-homemade cupcake recipe. Yup – 30 minutes – including bake time! Just in time for that Christmas Party, or even Christmas day dessert. It’s so easy and the kids can even help!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Duncan Hines Double Fudge Chocolate Cake Mix
2. 3 eggs
3. 1/3 cup of Vegetable Oil
4. 1 1/4 cup of water
5. One pack of instant chocolate pudding
6. Andes thin mints
7. Chocolate Frosting (you can make your own or use the Duncan Hines canned frosting – note that making your own will increase the time it takes to make these cupcakes 🙂 For my favorite chocolate frosting click this link: https://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/chocolate-caramel-cupcakes/

Ok, here’s what you need to do:

Make the cupcakes according to the directions on the box

Add the package of instant pudding

Chop 10 Andes mints – add to the batter

Fill liners halfway with cupcake batter

Bake for 18-20 minutes

Let cupcakes cool (place them in the fridge for a few minutes to speed up the process)

Chop 15-25 Andes thin mints – place in a shallow bowl

With a knife, frost the top of each cupcake – no need for fancy technique, we are going to cover it up!

Dip each frosted cupcake in the chopped up Andes Mints

 

   

Display nicely – and enjoy!!

There you have it – an easy breezy recipe that is sure to impress!! Happy Holidays! xoxo

P.S. The winner of my Cupcake Magnet Contest is Beth from happylifehappywife.wordpress.com. Congrats Beth! You will get your cupcake magnets this week!!

Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate Caramel Goodness!

Happy Monday readers!

Last night I made Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes – complete with gooey caramel centers, milk chocolate mousse, and rich chocolate cake. The recipe took me longer than I had hoped, and I had to make some adjustments along the way, but I came out with a great cupcake and a flawless recipe. Please enjoy!! I’m warning you though, the milk chocolate mousse is really good…I was tempted to pipe the frosting straight to my mouth and skip the cupcake all together. Don’t worry…I didn’t 😉

 

 

 

Chocolate Caramel Mousse Cupcakes (makes 24)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Caramel Cupcake    

24 Kraft Caramel squares

1 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Caramel Sauce

10-14 Kraft Caramel Squares

¼ cup of Half and Half

Milk Chocolate Mousse Frosting

1 cup of milk chocolate chips

2 cups of Nestle Toll House Cocoa Powder

1 stick of softened butter

¼ cup of vegetable shortening

1 cup of whipping cream

1 ½ cups of powder sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil and eggs.
4. Mix everything together until smooth, either by hand or by using an electric mixer at slow speed. If the batter is too thin – add a little bit more flour.
5. Pour batter into cupcake liners, making them half full.
6. Bake for 15 minutes
7. Take cupcake from the oven and place a caramel square on the top of each cupcake. Bake for 5 more minutes, until the caramel has melted onto the cupcake.

Before baking the caramels

Mousse

1. Cream together the butter, vegetable shortening, and powdered sugar
2. Slowly add in cocoa powder and whipping cream
3. Beat on medium high speed until soft peaks form
4. In a microwave safe bowl, put your chocolate chips and ½ tbs of butter – Heat on high for 30 seconds. Stir until completely combined and melted.
5. Add melted chocolate mixture to the mixing bowl – mix until well combined

**Note: Do not over mix this frosting, if you do, it will begin to curdle and separate. It takes about 10 minutes for the mixture to form soft peaks and become frosting like **

Caramel Sauce

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the caramel squares with the half and half. Stir continuously or else your caramel will burn.

Pipe your frosting on the cupcake and drizzle with caramel. Now enjoy!!