Chocolate and peppermint are a great combination for holiday treats and you can enjoy these two flavors in these Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes! When I saw this recipe over at BetterHomesandGardens.com, I just had to try it! I changed some of the ingredients in the recipe and prepared it slightly differently. One of the things I did was substitute butter for the shortening, and it worked out fine.

The original recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I ended up with 11—I filled my cupcake pan cups almost 3/4 full of batter. If you fill them 2/3 full, you can probably get 12 cupcakes. I had plenty of Creamy Peppermint frosting to work with, though…in fact, I had extra. And it is yummy frosting…I’ll use the extra for something else!

I really liked the chocolate cupcake and peppermint frosting combination…and topping the cupcakes off with crushed candy canes or peppermint candies adds a special holiday touch! I noted in the recipe that the crushed peppermint candy will stick better to the frosting on the sides if it is crushed into very small pieces.

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CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CUPCAKES by NancyC, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Makes 11 to 12 cupcakes

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat eleven to twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or grease well with butter; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside. 

In a large bowl, blend butter with sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, mixing after each addition just until combined. Fold in mini chocolate chips and divide batter among the greased muffin cups (as I mentioned before, I filled 11 muffin cups almost 3/4 full; filling them 2/3 full probably will give you 12 cupcakes).

Bake cupcakes for 20 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan (I had to loosen mine a little with a small knife and the cupcakes came out fine); cool completely on wire rack.

While cupcakes are cooling, you can make the frosting. Just a note that this peppermint frosting has marshmallow creme in it, so it can get on the gooey side. I added extra powdered sugar, which I noted in the recipe, but you could also just use a peppermint buttercream frosting for this too, if you prefer!

CREAMY PEPPERMINT FROSTING

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 2 Tablespoons Half & Half
• 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies or candy canes (the crushed peppermint will stick to the sides better if it is crushed into very small pieces)

In a large bowl, combine the softened butter, marshmallow creme, and peppermint extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in 2 Tablespoons half and half. Gradually beat in the other 2 cups of powdered sugar. This makes a nice thick and creamy frosting. NOTE: if your frosting seems too gooey and hard to spread, try adding another 1/2 cup to 1 cup of powdered sugar, or more, until you get the texture you want.

TO FROST CUPCAKES (up to 4 hours before serving), cut them in half horizontally. Spoon about 1 Tablespoon frosting onto the bottom of each cupcake. Replace cupcake tops, pressing gently to spread frosting to edges. Place the crushed peppermint candies on a sheet of waxed paper. Roll sides of cupcakes in crushed candies to coat the exposed frosting. Pipe or spread the remaining frosting onto tops of cupcakes. If desired, sprinkle with additional crushed peppermint candies.

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These cupcakes are fun and festive as well as yummy! Are you a fan of chocolate and peppermint treats too?

Sharing at Full Plate Thursday, Lou Lou Girl’s Fabulous Party, Wonderful Wednesday, Inspire Me Monday.