Peppermint Patty Cupcakes

I had to make a dessert for my work lunch today, so I chose Peppermint Patty Cupcakes. Let's dive in.

      For the cupcakes
4 oz Dark chocolate chips
1 box Chocolate cake mix
3 Large eggs
1½ tsp Pure vanilla extract
¾ C Water
⅓ C Oil
½ C Sour cream
      For the frosting
1½ C (3 sticks) Unsalted butter at room temperature
12 peppermint patties
4 C Confectionary Sugar
3 tbsp Heavy whipping cream
1 tsp peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 350° In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips for 45-60 seconds or until melted. Stir until smooth and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine cake mix with remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Add melted dark chocolate last and mix into batter.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill each liner ⅔ full of batter.
Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cupcakes are done.
Allow cupcakes to cool for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool them completely.
For the frosting:
Allow butter to come to room temperature. Remove peppermint patties from wrappers and use a knife to chop into small pieces. Using the wire whisk attachment on your mixer, whip butter for several minutes until light and fluffy.  Slowly add powered sugar one cup at a time. Alternate one cup of powdered sugar with one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream. After adding the 4th cup of powdered sugar, increase speed to medium high and beat for another 3-4 minutes. Then add in the extract.  Add peppermint patties last and mix until combined.

So when I did the original recipe, the girl didn't have the extract in her recipe, and her frosting literally tasted like nothing. It just tasted like sweet butter, and not in a good way. So I added the extract myself, and it improved it greatly.

Delicious! (I cut a peppermint patty in half and put it on top for decoration)

Peppermint Dip

Tonight we had Stamp and Chat, and naturally, I forgot to take a picture of the cards before I put them away. I guess that I could get them back out, and take a picture, but just take my word that they're adorable as always. Tonight's treat theme is Winter treats, so I made a peppermint dip. It's so easy and delicious!

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
Almost 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract - I did about 1/4 tsp but then added a dash more
8 oz container Cool Whip
1 Cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
To dip:
Chocolate Graham Crackers
Regular Graham Crackers
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Nilla Wafers

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and peppermint extract and beat until smooth and totally combined. Add the Cool Whip and beat until combined. Fold in the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. Transfer dip to a serving bowl and chill until ready to serve. Serve with the dipping stuffs.

Guys, this was so good, I can't even describe. I accidentally ate so much of it, it's so tasty.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Peppermint Cookies

I made a new batch of cookies tonight, and I had to mix up two recipes together to make them happen. I took the recipe for my chocolate chip cookies, and added some new things. Here’s the recipe for these delicious cookies:

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup Andes peppermint chips
1 cup smashed up Oreos (not completely – you want chunks, not just the fine powder)

Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. In a medium size bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla and peppermint. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together. Pour in the chocolate and peppermint chips. Then, hand mix in the Oreos, and don’t overmix or the Oreo’s will take over the cookie dough. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls, about 1 Tablespoons of dough each. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

These were crazy delicious! Honestly, the peppermint is such a great edition. But truth be told, when I make these in the future, I think I’ll leave out the Oreo. It’s a delish cookie, and I liked the taste, but I want to see what it’s like without it. But otherwise, these are awesome and super tasty. Enjoy!