I may not be a huge fan of Christmas music in November. Or Christmas merchandise hitting stores in October (ughhh). But there is one holiday tradition whose early arrival I always look forward to — peppermint mocha season!!! :)
I know, I know that coffee shops can mix these up year-round, but there’s something much more special about when it’s the featured drink of the season…and when they break out the cute red sprinkles and crushed peppermints to top them off. YUM!!
Somehow this week, though, it occurred to me that I’d somehow never thought of translating the mocha-pepperminty goodness into a cupcake form! So I found a mocha cupcake recipe (that called for coffee instead of espresso, since I don’t have a machine at home!), and added some peppermint cream cheese frosting on top (was a little skeptical about the cream cheese + peppermint combo, but loved it!)….and voila!!! Behold, my new favorite holiday cupcake.
From now on, peppermint mocha season will now be doubly delicious!!!
Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
Ingredients
Mocha Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Frosting Ingredients:
- 8 oz. (1 brick) cream cheese, softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on the thickness you’d like)
- 4 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
- 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Instructions
To Make Cupcakes:
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners. (Or if using nut cups, as pictured above, lay them out on a cookie sheet.)
- Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and brewed coffee.
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. (Depending on how full you fill them, this recipe will make 12-16 cupcakes.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 16-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
To Make Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, mix together cream cheese, butter, vanilla and peppermint extract. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well until it’s all incorporated. Use immediately or refrigerate. The frosting will harden in the fridge, so plan on bring it back to room temperature if you must refrigerate it before frosting the cupcakes.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
These look so delicious! Perfect for Christmas! Would you mind if I included it in my next round up for “Dear Mrs. Claus”? Here is an example: https://kitchensimplicity.com/please-fill-my-stocking-with-these/ Sorry, I would have e-mailed you but I couldn’t find an email address. :)
Hi Ali,
I love your idea for a peppermint mocha cupcake!!! I too love this time of year for the very same reason…how can anyone resist a yummy chocolate mocha with some peppermint mixed in???…not me, that’s for sure! I can’t wait to try out your recipe…thanks.
Hi Ali
Yay! I just found your blog thru Elsie Blaha and i am so glad i did! I have just lost several hours of my life on your blog. I found these mini cupcakes and I want to make them with my young daughter. We have a bunch of nut cups and want to use those but ours are waxed- are yours?
Hello Ali!
We’ve selected you as our Foodista Food Blog of the Day for this Thursday, December 3rd! Your blog for Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes will be featured on the Foodista homepage for 24 hours. This is a new feature that we recently launched and are thrilled to post your blog.
Since you are now a part of the Foodista Featured Blogger of The Day Community, we’ve created a special badge for you to display proudly on your blog sidebar. I couldn’t find your email on your blog to send you the access code for the special badge, but I want to make sure you get it if you are interested. Please send me an email and I’ll send it right away.
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I love the color of those!!! They look fantastic! I love peppermint flavored desserts :)
These look so great and it’s that time of the year. Peppermint Mocha time!! Thanks for posting this recipe, I will totally be making this cupcakes.
I am with you on the peppermint mocha season! I won’t let anyone in my family play Christmas music before Thanksgiving.. but I will sneak by Starbucks to get a peppermint mocha in the pretty red cup! These cupcakes sound amazing. I think they may be one of my new favorite holiday treats!
Oh I will definitely be trying this little gem!!!!
Great recipe, thank you so much for posting! :) I’ve been whipping up some holiday beverages, and this will go so well with it….
:)
This is gorgeous!!! Sounds yummy, too. How perfect to take to holiday gatherings!
I love the color of those cupcakes!