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Chocolate peppermint cupcakes are homemade, one-bowl chocolate peppermint cupcakes topped with light and fluffy peppermint frosting. These moist, rich cupcakes are so fun for the holidays, and they can be made from scratch in no time!
Chocolate peppermint cupcakes are the perfect holiday treat! These moist chocolate cupcakes are adapted from my popular chocolate cupcake recipe.
They’re topped with sweet and rich peppermint buttercream frosting. The cupcakes are sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy for even more peppermint flavor and a bit of crunch.
They make a tasty holiday dessert, and if you give them a try, them may become a new Christmas favorite!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you would prefer to use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work equally well.
- Vanilla extract: The vanilla helps to enhance the chocolate flavor. You can decrease the amount of vanilla to 1 teaspoon if you prefer.
- Peppermint extract: It’s important to get peppermint extract. Spearmint tastes more like gum or toothpaste, so you’ll want to be sure to use peppermint in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: I recommend using full-fat, but low-fat will work if that’s what you have. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute with this buttermilk substitute recipe.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream in this recipe.
- Flour: Be sure to properly measure the flour to avoid dense or dry cupcakes. Either weigh or sift the flour, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and then level.
- Cocoa powder: You’ll need regular, not Dutch-processed, cocoa powder for this recipe.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream helps the frosting whip up light and fluffy. If you don’t want to use cream, you can use whole milk; however, the frosting will not be quite as light and fluffy.
How to make chocolate peppermint cupcakes
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including instructions, is given below.
Cupcakes
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 20 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until well-combined, about 3-4 minutes on medium.
Step 3: Mix in the eggs one at a time until well-incorporated.
Step 4: Mix in the vanilla and peppermint extracts.
Step 5: Add the buttermilk, sour cream, and warm water. Mix in until well-combined.
Step 6: Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in just until combined. Do not overmix.
Step 7: Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.
Step 8: Bake about 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 9: Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Tips!
- Pan prep: I like to use cupcake liners with this recipe. My favorite cupcake liners are parchment with a nonstick finish. If you want to grease the cups instead, use either grease and flour or a baking spray with flour in it.
- Temperature matters! For this recipe, the refrigerated ingredients should be at room temp. This means about 70 F. However, you don’t want the butter to be warm. When the butter is smooshy and almost melting, it’s too warm.
- Stir by hand! I recommend mixing the dry ingredients in by hand to avoid overmixing. Overmixing can cause dense, chewy cupcakes.
- Measurements matter! Be sure to properly measure the flour. I recommend weighing the ingredients for the most accurate results. If measuring by volume, sift the flour, lightly spoon into a measuring cup (avoid packing it in), and then level it off. Too much flour will give you a dense, dry cupcake.
Room temperature ingredients
First, let’s quickly talk about what “room temperature” means. Room temperature means that the ingredients are about 68-70F in temperature.
Room temperature ingredients will mix together better than cold ingredients. The butter shouldn’t be warm and melty, but it should be at room temperature to allow the butter and sugars to properly incorporate.
Also, mixing room temperature butter with cold ingredients will cause the butter to form little chunks throughout the batter, rather than incorporating into the batter.
Storage
Store any leftover unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature. The cupcakes will keep for for up to 4 days when properly stored.
Frosted cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cupcakes will keep for up to 5 days when properly stored in the fridge.
More Christmas dessert recipes!
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Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
Chocolate peppermint cupcakes are homemade, one-bowl chocolate peppermint cupcakes topped with light and fluffy peppermint frosting. These moist, rich cupcakes are so fun for the holidays, and they can be made from scratch in no time!
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Ingredients
Instructions
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 20 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until well-combined, about 3-4 minutes on medium.
Mix in the eggs one at a time until well-incorporated.
Mix in the vanilla extract and peppermint extract.
Add the buttermilk, sour cream, and warm water. Mix in until well-combined.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in just until combined. Do not overmix.
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.
Bake about 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Frosting
In a large mixing bowl add the butter and 6 cups powdered sugar. Beat on the lowest speed until the butter and sugar form crumbs.
Add 1/3 cup heavy cream and peppermint extract, beat on a low speed until the buttercream starts to come together then increase the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes or until the buttercream is light and fluffy. You can adjust the thickness of the buttercream by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more cream to thin.
Transfer the peppermint buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip or similar tip.
Pipe decorative swirls on top of each cupcake and sprinkle over the crushed candy canes.
Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you would prefer to use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work equally well.
- Buttermilk: I recommend using full-fat, but low-fat will work if that’s what you have. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute with this buttermilk substitute recipe.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream in this recipe.
- Flour: Be sure to properly measure the flour to avoid dense or dry cupcakes. Either weigh or sift the flour, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and then level.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream helps the frosting whip up light and fluffy. If you don’t want to use cream, you can use whole milk; however, the frosting will not be quite as light and fluffy.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 309mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 745IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg
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