Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

It's been a chilly and snowy weekend here in Pennsylvania. For me there isn't a better way to spend a winter-y Sunday afternoon than cozied up with a platter full of frosty, peppermint cupcakes and watching many, many hours football. Cupcakes and football could be two of life's greatest things, especially in this house!

Add kittens to the list of life's greatest things too! We just got a new kitten this weekend and are introducing her to our other younger cat, so I wanted to bake something easy this week. I had a box of Betty Crocker cupcake mix in the cupboard and decided this was the way to go. The cupcake mix comes with a little packet of dry mix and 12 cupcake liners. You just add the water, oil, and an egg like a regular mix.

The peppermint frosting was a great addition to the chocolate cupcakes. I didn't want the frosting to be too strong, so I only added a touch of the extract. I had both peppermint hard candies and also a bag of Andes holiday peppermint crunch candies in the house. I chopped up some of both and decided the Andes mints tasted better when sprinkled on the cupcakes. The chopped Andes candies aren't as crunchy as the hard peppermints and had a sweet taste that went well with the icing. The result is a sweet frosting with a nice mellow peppermint flavor.

I love the look of crushed peppermints against the white icing. They look so festive!

Peppermint Frosting

3/4 cup vegetable shortening, like Crisco
3-4 TBL water
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup powdered coffee creamer (I used French vanilla)
1/8 tsp peppermint extract

Mix vegetable shortening and water in a mixer until combined. Slowly add powdered sugar and powdered coffee creamer. Mix until well combined. Add the extract and mix. Add some extra water if needed to get the frosting to the right consistency.

A rare photo of the two cats where they're not chasing each other around the house!