Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes

Today I'm so excited to be sharing a fun holiday recipe and linking it up with Schue Love, as our 5th day in the Christmas Cheer link parties! I'm usually so busy at school that I can barely make a delicious meal, let alone photograph it and share here on the blog, so Christmas Break is great for baking! I'll be honest and say while I love both cooking and baking, I'm definitely more of a baker.  However, after the mess I created in the kitchen while baking these cupcakes...I think my mom will I'll need a while to recover before baking again (;

I found the recipe for my Vanilla-Peppermint Cupcakes over at Oprah's website. I ended up adapting the recipe to make it much easier, but here are the ingredients:

• Cupcakes:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg , room temperature
• 2 large egg whites , room temperature

• Frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp. milk

{Go here for full directions}


This is actually the recipe for Sprinkles Cupcakes, my favorite cupcake shop! I happened to have a mix in the cupboard for the cupcakes, so I ended up being able to skip making the batter! {Great time saver} Instead, I just whipped up the box mix and made the frosting by scratch. {You can by the mix at William Sonoma or the Sprinkles store}

I put my own spin on things by doing this:


After making the batter, I separated it into 2 bowls. I colored one of the bowls with red food coloring and left the other white:

I poured half of each batter into the cupcake holders, so it would bake together and look like a candy cane:

Then I made the delicious frosting by scratch and crushed these candy canes to sprinkle on top:

Scrumptious, if I do say so myself! 

I love it because when you bite into the cute dessert, there's the added surprise of the red and white cake.  We all love cupcakes...so just put your own holiday twist on your favorite recipe (:

I'm linking up with Natasha over at Schue Love!

Head over and link up your holiday recipe to share with the rest of us.

Don't forget Thursday is the Holiday Decor link party over here at my blog! Link up any last holiday decorations you've been working on for our last link party...anything goes! I'm excited to share a few last corners in our living room.


Happy Baking!
Love,

PS. Winner of the Ravenna Girls Giveaway is Erin from Northern Moon! Congrats (: Email me to claim your prize!