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Thin Mint Cupcakes are rich chocolate cupcakes smothered with chocolate ganache and minty frosting, then topped with Thin Mints! Girl Scout or not, this is a dream come true!
Lizzy from Your Cup of Cake is here today with some fantabulous cupcakes. Oh how I could go for one right now, without a box in sight! Thanks so much for guest posting today, Lizzy!
I am so happy to be back here guest posting for the sweet and gorgeous Jamie! I’m Lizzy from Your Cup of Cake and cupcakes are my specialty! I can hardly find a drawer in my house that isn’t full of cupcake liners and sprinkles!
I’m not sure about you, but I was a proud and faithful Girl Scout. I loved camping and hiking and earning all the badges, but I mostly did it for the cookies. Not just any cookie… the Thin Mints. I’ll admit I sampled way too many cookies while I was in the kitchen making this recipe, whoops!
Adding a layer of chocolate ganache to any cupcake really takes it to the next level, plus it seals in the moisture of the cake! So this is a really great trick to use for wedding or parties where you know the cupcakes will be sitting out for a while. You can always add a little more or less whipping cream depending on how thick or thin you want the ganache to be. And remember, if the ganache cools down and gets too thick to dip your cupcakes in, just pop it back in the microwave for a 10-15 second “zap” and it will be good to go!
If you love mint desserts, make sure and check out my adorable Shamrock Shake Cupcakes my Andes Mint Cake–it’s dripping in chocolate and rimmed with Andes Mints!
Thin Mint Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk or milk
For the Ganache
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
For the Mint Frosting
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 1-1/2 teaspoons mint or peppermint extract add this gradually to taste as the intensity of mint extract varies from brand to brand
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- green food dye
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line pans with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla extract together.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pour in half of these dry ingredients into the oil mixture and stir.
- Add milk and gently stir again and then add the rest of the dry ingredients. Be careful not to over mix.
- Fill cupcake liners half full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until and inserted knife comes out clean. Let cool.
For the Chocolate Ganache
- Place chocolate chips and whipping cream in a small microwave-proof bowl and microwave for 40 seconds. Remove and stir and continue to microwave until smooth.
- Dip cooled cupcakes into the ganache and turn right side up to let set.
For the Mint Frosting
- Beat butter until smooth.
- Add vanilla and mint extract and beat again.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency (add milk if it becomes too thick).
- Add as much green food dye as desired.
- Pipe on over ganache and top cupcakes with Thin Mints! I crushed a few cookies and used them as "sprinkles".
Made them for my fiancée. I don’t like mint, but I know she and all the girls she works with do. Had a stove issue with them cooking at 450. They were done in 6 minutes and turned out perfect. I said I don’t like mint, but these taste just like the cookie. The ganache is where all the goals are kicked. Great recipe.
I’m so glad you and your fiancee enjoyed them!
Hi!
I live in pakistan and I only have peppermint essential oil. Do you think it would be safe to use instead? And how many drops?
Saarah-
Thanks so much for stopping by. Unfortunately, I am not super familiar with essential oils, so I’m afraid I can’t give much info on that substitution.
-Jamie
Hi Jamie, I am from India and we don’t get mint extract here. Do you think adding oils will be okay? And if yes then how much should be added?
Hi, Ankita! I think you might be able to use oil, but I’ve never tried. I would think the mint oil would be a much stronger taste, so I would add very little oil at first and taste the result. Add a little more if you’d like. Let me know how it turns out!
I just baked these cupcakes today and they turned out amazingly perfect! Thanks so much for the recipe. I did add mint extract in the cake batter too! Just 1/2 a teaspoon.
Olivia-
I’m so glad the recipe worked for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
The idea for this recipe is very good, but the recipe could be improved upon. The cupcakes sank in the middle (I used fresh soda and powder too), the edges were crispy and the insides were crumbly. The frosting needed much more mint flavoring as well. I’ve been baking and cooking for many years, so this can’t be chalked up to inexperience. The recipe simply needs some tweaking. The flavor however, is good.
Sort of a weird question…but how do you keep your cupcake liners so nice and bright….with a dark color cupcake? Do you double them up? I have used the greaseproof ones which are nice as they don’t get greasy on the outside but the color gets really lost with a dark cupcake color. Can you shed some light?
Tina-
It honesly all depends on the liners. I have had amazing luck with the liners from Sweet & Treats Boutique. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
These look amazing! I love mint and chocolate, such a great combination and the vibrancy of the mint frosting is incredible! I’ve just started my own baking blog http://www.sugarspiceandallthingsiced.wordpress.com, it would be great if you could check it out :) xx
Charlotte-
Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Lizzy – I once ate a whole sleeve of thin mints and drank a 4 cup french press of coffee in one sitting. No shame. I think these cupcakes are a great way to celebrate the return of GSC and even St. Patty’s Day. I love these.
Erin-
Coffee and Thin Mints is a great combo! Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
These are lovely! Such pretty presentation and I love the process shots :)
Medha-
Thanks so much for visiting!
-Jamie
These are beautiful! Mint is my favorite and I wish I had one of these right now!