Thin Mint Cupcakes - National Chocolate Cake day

National Chocolate Cake Day -- eat with a cookie

 

Thin Mint Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Total Time: 40 min

Rich chocolate cupcake recipe with crushed Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies and topped with a homemade mint buttercream frosting.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey Special Dark – but use what you prefer)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat plain (or vanilla) yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 sleeve Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies (16 cookies), crushed slightly
for the mint buttercream:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. mint extract
2 Tbs. milk, more if needed

Directions:

Heat to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cavity cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter, cocoa powder, salt and water together. Stir and cook until melted. Remove from heat.
Add about half of the butter/cocoa mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the remaining butter/cocoa mixture and stir until fully combined. Whisk in the egg and stir well. Add the yogurt and the vanilla and stir well. Stir in the crushed cookies.
Portion the batter evenly into the lined cupcake pan, filling each liner about 3/4-full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 17-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely

while the cupcakes cool, prepare the buttercream:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and slowly incorporate until smooth and fluffy. Add the mint extract and salt and whip just to combine. Stream in the milk.
• For a thicker frosting, skip the milk, or just add more powdered sugar. If the frosting needs thinned out, add a little more milk.
• Frost the cupcakes any way you like.

 

Cake recipe adapted from Bi Rite Market's Eat Good Food cookbook via Two Peas and Their Pod.