Grasshopper / Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

These are hands-down the yummiest and easiest cupcakes I have ever made. And I have made a lot of cupcakes in my life! (Sorry, waistline.)

I have a co-worker who loves birthdays. And, if you know me, you know exactly who it is. Last year she wanted a “raspberry chocolate something,” and this year she wanted a “mint chocolate chip cake.” I love making up recipes, so I usually reply with a “challenge accepted.” (How I Met Your Mother - anyone?)

Now, I never think to write these recipes down. If you asked me how I made her ‘raspberry chocolate something,’ I sure couldn’t tell you.

But these were so good, I had too many people asking for the recipe, and every ingredient “to taste” wasn’t quite going to cut it. So I did you all a favor, made them again, wrote down exactly how much of everything I added and voile! You’re welcome. (And, secretly, I needed a birthday dessert for Dan, and even more secretly, I really wanted them myself…beside the point. This is for you.)

First of all, I made cupcakes because they are easier to eat at work. And mini cupcakes, because then you can multiple. And I cheated. I used boxed cake mix. 90% of the time I make it all from scratch .. but I had to be done in time for the Bachelor. Priorities, people!

So grab a few staples from your cabinet:

 

Ingredients:

1 box Chocolate Cake Mix (Eggs, Oil, and Water to prepare the batter)

1 package of Andes Mints

2 sticks of salted butter

4.5 cups of powdered sugar

½ cup Crème de Menthe liquor

Make your boxed cake batter according to directions.

Put your super-cute-on-clearance-so-you-can-justify-the-purchase mini cupcake liners in your mini cupcake pan.

Now, get ready for the best trick I am going to give you for mini cupcakes / muffins. Behold. The plastic bag.

For muffins, you can just put the ingredients in and shake them up in the bag. For cupcakes, I like to beat the batter with a mixer first.

Cut the corner off of the plastic bag. No more mess! No more 300 scoops! I have now given away my best trick. I don’t know what I am going to do for material on this blog anymore.

Since I sent my husband to get the Andes, for fear of getting the wrong thing (which he does about 99% of the time that he goes to the grocery store himself- love you Dan), he came back with both larger Andes in a bag, and these pre-chopped Andes pieces.

These were awesome, and saved some time! But if you don’t want to have these mints left over, tempting you to eat them all in one sitting, just grab some regular ones and give them a rough chop. Add to batter.

No need to stir, these will sink in as you bake them. Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean.

Now for the deliciousness. The frosting.

Beat 2 sticks of butter until fluffy. Slowly add in 4.5 cups of powdered sugar. Beat in ½ cup Crème de Menthe liquor. This part is clutch. Peppermint oil and mint extract are not the right type of mint for these. Those are more Candy Cane / York mint, instead of the Andes / Grasshopper mint. Plus, have you seen the grasshopper milkshakes on Pinterest? You'll find other uses for the Crème de Menthe.

Frost with the plastic bag trick (what are you guys going to do without me?) .. or if you have 47 Wilton icing tips because you have a problem with impulse-buying kitchen items, choose tip number 28, pipe, and enjoy.

I placed pieces of Andes on top, and then added roughly chopped chocolate sprinkles, for a “mint chocolate chip” look. This made 48 mini cupcakes. Don’t tell Dan. I don’t want him to do the math on how many I have eaten.

And, because this recipe is already a novel, I will leave you with a story. After making these, Dan and I went to do our Ab Ripper workout DVD. I kept finding chocolate sprinkles stuck to my thighs while working out. WOW. Seriously? Dan couldn’t help but laugh out loud at me. Jillian would be so disappointed. At least I did the DVD, right? Chocolate sprinkles and all? Do these things happen to anyone else??