Festive Drink Collection: Hot Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

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With winter time here I've been inspired by some delicious warm wintertime drinks that you might enjoy by the fireplace. I'm thinking specifically of hot chocolate of course. I'm also a sucker for a good pumpkin spice latte, but we are officially out of October, and Starbucks has switched out their menu so I guess that's out of season. I most definitely have a recipe for a pumpkin spice latte cupcake! I'll just have to share it in a future post. For now, I'm hyper focused in on those November and December warm Festive Drink Collection.

My second weakness incorporated into this drink is mint. In my other professional space as a landscape designer, I am fully aware that it takes over like a weed, but I will always choose to have it in my garden. Of course I'm not putting any green peppermint herbs on my cupcakes, but it's candy cane weather, so if you want to add a candy cane topper to yours I 100% support that. The concept of peppermint hot chocolate was introduced to me pretty late in life and became an immediate obsession. So to get that full peppermint zing in these cupcakes you're going to have to add a whopping 1/2 tsp.

Full disclosure, that 1/2 teaspoon is actually called for in my Peppermint Hot Chocolate Dry Mix which actually makes 2 dozen cupcakes and comes with an instructional video with tips and tricks! (shameless plug over) So if you're only making 12 for a small gathering you can probably get that down to 1/4 tsp instead. For mine, I just grab a bag of Starlight Peppermint Candies, you know, the ones pre wrapped that you grab on your way out of a restaurant. From there, I drop the unwrapped candy into a gallon zip lock bag and crush them up with a meat cleaver. Make sure that you have some wipes ready for after since it can become a sticky mess. All that said, if you know a candymaker you can get peppermint candies from locally, please do!

I think that those are the two main peppermint points that are going to make your cupcakes. Aside from those, you'll need your standard stuff. Mixer, bowls, cupcake trays, liners, spatulas, measuring cups, y'all know the drill. I promise I won't do the full list out on every blog. But I will remind my readers, separate those egg whites, put those yolks in with your wet ingredients, and make sure you cream your butter and sugar first and foremost. Okay, one more shameless plug, I did try to keep those sugars separated out from the rest of the ingredients in those dry mixes. Hopefully it worked out well, it did for my tester!

Let's talk for a moment about Coffee. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of coffee, this a flavoring that enhances and brings out that delicious chocolate flavor in the cupcake. Don't expect to get this dense, fudgy chocolate cupcake. The coffee mixed with that hot chocolate and cocoa powder really gives the cupcake a nice light hot chocolate flavor. For the hot chocolate mix that goes into the batter, I really just use the famous Miss Swiss hot chocolate powder. It helps that this happens to be my husbands favorite and he's been slowly making his way through the Costco size box for the season. I truly do not think anyone needs a box this size, however, the envelopes are a perfectly sized 1/4 cup so you don't have to worry about any measuring. Also, just for giggles, I wanted to link in a bulk pack of Swiss Miss.

So, now that you've got a full sense of the ingredients, grab that mug of hot chocolate to enjoy in your baking adventure and let's get going to that delicious holiday recipe! Remember, this was taken direct from the dry mix so what you have here will make 2 dozen cupcakes as long as you portion them out right!

Stay warm and happy baking!

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Hot Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 1.5 cups flour

• 1/2 Cup softened butter

• 3/4 Cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar

• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

• 1/4 Cup Hot chocolate Mix (I use a Swiss Miss envelope)

• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 2 room temp eggs

• 1.5 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup Coffee

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 3/4 Cup milk

• 1/2 tsp Mint Extract

Buttercream frosting:

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 1 cup butter

• Mix in or Top about 1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy or a candy cane.

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cupcake tin.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl together leaving out the sugar. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients separating the egg whites to a separate bowl. set the butter to the side. you should have 3 bowls total a bowl of:

Flour

Cocoa Powder

Hot Chocolate Mix

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Salt

a second bowl with:

Coffee

Milk

Vegetable oil

Egg yolks

Vanilla

and Mint Extract

in the third bowl take the butter and sugar and add to the stand (or bowl for hand) mixer and mix for about 2-3 minutes until incorporated and creamy.

Add the wet and dry ingredients into the bowl with the creamed butter and sugar, alternating between wet and dry ingredients until they are all mixed in and you have a smooth batter.

whisk the egg whites either in a stand mixer or with a food processor or hand blender Once soft peaks form, pour the egg whites into the batter and gently fold them gently in with a silicone spatula until they are fully incorporated. Use a spoon or cup measure to fill the cupcake tins between 1/2 way and 2/3 full. Once filled bake for 18-22 minutes checking for doneness with a toothpick.

Buttercream Frosting:

While those cupcakes bake add the cup of softened butter into your stand mixer or bowl and set to medium mixing for about a minute. With the stand mixer (or hand mixer) on low speed, add the powdered sugar in small amounts, adding more as the previous bit is fully incorporated and adjusting the speed as necessary to encourage full incorporation.

Once all of the powdered sugar is fully incorporated and you have a nice creamy buttercream frosting, keep the mixer on low speed and add a little bit of milk for consistency. You can also add in the peppermint here, or just use it as a cupcake topper.