Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Every year, I make birthday treats for my friend Chris and this year was no exception. His birthday is on Christmas Eve, so I usually make it for the last day of work before we're off for the holidays. I asked him if he had any requests and he asked for something mint chocolate.

This year was slightly different as we had a department holiday party last week and I decided to make his birthday treats then. I wasn't sure what I was going to make. Brownies with minty cream cheese swirled into it? I had initially planned to make peppermint mocha cookies for the holidays, and thought "Why not in a cupcake?"

Luckily, someone had already thought of it and there was a handy recipe available online.

For the Cupcakes

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons Penzeys Natural Cocoa Powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 tablespoon Medaglia D'Oro instant espresso 
• ½ cup hot coffee
• 3/4 cup chopped mint chocolate (from a baking supply store, no brand name on the package)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with liners.

2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, instant espresso, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

3. Add in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. 

4. Add half of the coffee into the mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add remaining coffee. Beat until the batter is smooth. 

5. Fold in chopped mint chocolate. 

6. Divide it evenly among the lined cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes completely.

For the Frosting (I used the frosting recipe from the linked cookie recipe.)

• 9 Tbsp butter, room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
• crushed peppermints

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth. 

2. Add confectioners' sugar and beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined. Scrape down bowl. 

3. Add milk and peppermint extract and beat at medium speed until incorporated, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. 

4. Frost cooled cupcakes and immediately sprinkle each with crushed mints.

Long Time No Update

I haven't been the best blogger. Yes, I'm still baking and I still love trying new recipes.

About the last time I had posted was when I had a contact that was a baker at Whole Foods. She loved the products I made and appreciated the presentations I would attempt. I would say that I'm great at baking, but I'm still learning how to plate. I talked to her a great deal about making a career change, and she knew about this blog and that I love taking pictures of everything. She said this is a great platform to use as a portfolio, which I realize is ironic, considering I haven't been updating it.

In the meantime, people have been outsourcing baked goods to me, mostly coworkers who have asked me to bake things for them. It's been a good experience, as I have been toying with the idea of having a side business as a caterer. I have been compared to the sitcom 2 Broke Girls quite a bit.

So that, in a nutshell, is what I've been up to. Still trying new recipes, though not as often as I'd like. My day job has changed for me quite a bit the last year and a half, which is about when I stopped updating this blog. The changes have been fine, but it has left me with a lot less time to play in the kitchen.

I miss writing and blogging though. I hope to change that in the near future.