Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Mint Brownie Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made these cupcakes over the weekend to bring to the in-laws' family game night and annual corned beef and cabbage dinner. This recipe is from Taste of Home - I first made these for St. Patrick's Day last year and my mother-in-law loved them, so I think it's going to become a tradition!

As you might have guessed from the name, these treats look like cupcakes, but the texture is more like a brownie. The topping is very light, with marshmallow and whipped cream as the main ingredients. In my opinion you can't go wrong with mint and chocolate at any time of year, but I thought these would make for a fun and festive post for the holiday.


Mint Brownie Cupcakes

1 cup mint chocolate chips (I couldn't find these at our store so I chopped up a couple of Lindt bars)
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:
4 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
Green or red food coloring, optional
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
Additional chocolate chips, optional

In a heavy saucepan, melt chips and butter; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
Stir in sugar and eggs. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually stir into chocolate mixture until smooth.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. (The recipe says it makes 16, but I only came out with 14 this time.) Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (cupcakes may fall in center). Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.
In a large saucepan, cook and stir marshmallows and milk over low heat until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring if desired.
Cover and refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until cooled. (Make sure you cool long enough - last year I was rushing and my topping came out a bit soupy.) Fold in whipped cream. Spread over cupcakes or top each with a dollop of topping. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

1 comment:

Lynsey Kaye said...

Yum! I am definitely bookmarking this recipe for the next time I want to attempt baking.