Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

When the undergrad in my lab, Juhi, was almost-but-not-quite done with her med school apps, I decided to entice her with a proposition: finish the apps, get a baked reward from yours truly. Apparently it worked because she finished them within a couple days. However, admittedly it took me a couple weeks to make good on my promise, but nevertheless I did NOT forget!

How did I decide what to make for the occasion? I simply asked Juhi what her favorite flavor of ice cream was, and went off of that. When she said "mint chocolate chip" I was super-excited because I love mint too! So this would not be an unenjoyable experience (though is baking ever?).

I immediately scoured the interwebs for recipes - cupcakes, brownies, cakes, cookies, I saw them all. But when I found a recipe for cupcakes with a mint oreo INSIDE, I was set. And cupcakes are easy to work with for a group (much moreso than a cake, where you have to cut and make a mess blah blah blah).

Of course, no cupcake is complete without a delicious frosting, and because I was cheating with the cupcake (see below), I had to bring it on the frosting. Of course no mint cupcake would be complete without a mint frosting, so I found a delicious mint buttercream to use. In general, I tend to think most frosting recipes are too sweet, so I usually start with 1/2-3/4 of the sugar in the recipe and add more as necessary.

The final result? You judge for yourself how minty fresh I got with it. Needless to say, Juhi loved them, though probably not enough to re-do her med school apps just to get another batch (all you have to do is ask!).

Mint on mint on mint.

Juhi's Mint Cupcakes

Cake (makes 24) - inspired by Half-Baked
1 devils food cake mix
24 mint oreos
Andes mints, for decoration

Frosting (makes 1 cup) - inspired by Cooking Whims
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 Tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
12-15 Andes mints, finely chopped
green food coloring

Follow directions on cake mix for the cupcakes. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins, only filling about halfway. In each cupcake, push an oreo into the center, being sure to cover them completely (and not eat too many of the extras!). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the frosting, whip butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and a couple drops of green food coloring and continue to whip until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once incorporated, fold in the chopped mints. Transfer to a Ziploc bag or pastry bag (if you're fancy).

Once the cupcakes have cooled, pipe frosting on using your chosen method, and top with an extra Andes mint. Refrigerate until set.