York Peppermint Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

– 1 box devil’s food cake mix

– 1 box instant chocolate pudding mix

– 4 eggs

– 3/4 cup vegetable oil

– 1 cup sour cream

– 1/2 cup milk

– 2 tsp. vanilla extract

– 24 small York Peppermint patties, frozen overnight

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Add in cake mix and pudding mix and continue mixing until well-combined.

2. Place cupcake liners into muffin pan and pour batter into cups filling each cup approximately 1/4 of the way, then place a small york peppermint patty. Fill the liner with more batter until it is about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Ingredients for the Peppermint Buttercream Frosting:

– 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

– 2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar, sifted

– 6-8 tbs. milk or heavy cream

– 2 tsp. peppermint extract (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time and continue until all sugar is creamed together with the butter. Add peppermint extract and 3 tablespoons of the milk or cream and mix. Keep adding a tablespoon of the milk or cream until your frosting is smooth. Frost the cupcakes and garnish with an additional mint or with shaved chocolate or sprinkles!

Notes:
– When baking with candy, I recommend freezing it overnight, otherwise, it will melt right into the batter while it’s baking!
– If you can’t find the small-size Yorks in a bag, you can just buy the large ones and cut them up into smaller pieces!