Mocha Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

Cupcakes
Chocolate cake mix (and ingredients it calls for on the box)
Strong brewed peppermint flavored coffee, room temperature (enough to replace the amount of water the box cake mix calls for)

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting 1 cup, 2 sticks of butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 tablespoons Peppermint Mocha Nestle Coffee-mate Creamer

1. Bake the cupcakes from the box cake, following directions except use room temperature coffee instead of water. Preferably very strong brewed to get the best taste.

2. Cool cupcakes to room temp.

3. Cream butter with hand mixer or in a stand mixer. Add in sugar, mixing well after each cup.

4. Add salt, peppermint extract and creamer, beat well.

5. Frost cupcakes when cool and enjoy! You can garnish with chopped candycane or grated chocolate which I meant to do. I used Heath baking chips because it's all I had on hand. Turned out pretty yummy anyway!

Peppermint Tree Christmas Craft

So you know how I'm like all obsessed with peppermint and stuff? Well I made up this awesome craft that is easy, cheap and smells of lovely, lovely peppermint.

You will need those Styrofoam cones they sell at the dollar tree. They might sell them at Wal-Mart too. You can actually have any shape base of Styrofoam, a ball, a square, whatever be creative!

You will also need several bags of peppermints. They are $1 a bag at Dollar Tree and 1 and about 1/2 bags fully covers one cone.

Take a low temp glue gun and put a circle of glue on the back of a peppermint. Stick it on the cone, pressing a few seconds. Follow along in a line going all the way to the top.

If you come to a place where a whole peppermint doesn't fit, you can break it in half and stick it in the bare spot.

When you are done it should look something like this....

 

Make several of these for a centrepiece or put them around the house to smell it up like peppermint.

Chocolate chip peppermint cookies

Here is another peppermint and chocolate recipe. I just can't get enough of these Andes peppermine crunch baking pieces. Sooo good! I'm going to have to buy a few more bags before Christmas time is over, because they are only sold this time of year.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 bag milk chocolate chips (I used about 3/4 bag)
1 bag Andes peppermint crunch chips (also used 3/4 bag)

1. Mix flour, soda and salt. Set aside.

 

2. With a mixer, beat together sugars, vanilla, and butter until smooth. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Gradually add flour followed by chocolate and peppermint chips.

 

3. Spread flour on a surface and divide batter into fourths. Roll into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Refridgerate until firm.

 

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Slice logs into discs and place on baking sheet. Bake 5 min, rotate baking sheet and bake 5 min more. Let cool 10 minutes before transfering to cooling rack.

Peppermint Mocha Trifle

Around this time of year I tend to be peppermint obsessed. Peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint coffee, even peppermint candles will suddenly appear at my house. I love it! I saw some peppermint bark baking chips at the grocery store last week and just had to get them. I didn't have a plan for them but I knew I could come up with something. Yes it was an impulse buy I'm ashamed to say! I came up with this Peppermint Mocha Trifle and it was delish! Normally we eat very healthy, but sometimes the fat kid in me takes over haha!

Ingredients
1 box cake mix (or you can make a cake from scratch to be a bit healthier)
1 pack instant chocolat pudding
1 container cool whip
1 bag peppermint crunch baking chips
1 cup strong brewed coffee

1. Bake cake according to instructions. Set aside to cool. Mix up pudding according to package and put in fridge.

2. Cut cake into cubes and layer in trifle dish or a deep dish.

 

3. Drizzle about 1/2 cup of the coffee over the cubes.
4. Next spread about 1/3 of the pudding mixture over the cubes.

5. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of peppermint chips over mixture.

 

 6. Next top with 1/3 container of cool whip. If you wait for the cool whip to soften it will spread better. (Which I didn't do because I was in a hurry lol)

7. Repeat the layers, then chill in fridge until ready to serve.