I know it isn’t anywhere near Girl Scout cookie season (not that I can order them from across the Atlantic anyway), but for some reason I got to thinking about thin mints this week. No idea why; perhaps it was because it was ridiculously hot outside and I was opening the freezer a lot and seeing a box stored away in the bottom drawer. One single box that one of my most amazing friends sent all the way from Texas (thanks Frank!) a few months ago.

However, a scorching Sunday afternoon did not seem special enough to eat the last sleeve of thin mints, but I was still craving that flavor and I still needed to get my weekend baking done. What resulted was these mint chocolate cupcakes – an adaptation of an earlier recipe I’d had but found the mint to be way overpowering.

It was a bit of a race against time to get these done, as the heat was making the butter in the frosting go very soft very quickly, so I was unable to do my usual fancy piping. Despite their more humble appearance, they were delicious; chocolate-y minty cupcakes with minty buttercream frosting topped with a chocolate mint.  You can’t beat it!

Each batch makes between 12 and 14 cupcakes, depending on how much you fill your pan.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
• 7 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (approx 175°C). Place cupcake liners into the pan.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; then set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix together the egg, milk, oil, peppermint, and vanilla. With your electric mixer on medium, slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and beat for about 30 seconds.

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then continue to mix for another minute or so, then add in the boiling water and stir to combine the last bits of ingredients.

4. Fill each of your cupcake liners about 3/4 full, then place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely on your cooling racks before frosting.

5. To make the frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter in your mixer until combined. Then add in the cream, vanilla, peppermint, and salt. Whisk on a medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until the frosting becomes light and fluffy. (Which is best achieved when it’s not a million degrees outside, or if you have air conditioning.) Finally, mix in the green food coloring until you achieve the color that you want.

6. Transfer your frosting to a piping back and pipe onto the cupcakes as you’d like. Top each cupcake with half of a chocolate mint to add a finishing touch!