Holiday cupcakes... to die for!

As I mentioned in my Christmas recap post here...
 I made some delicious cupcakes for Christmas Eve...
 I. mean. DELICIOUS.  { if I do say so myself }

The recipe for these masterpieces is from the amazing Bakers Royale, get it here... you must make a yummy batch for yourself!  

I did have to change up the recipe a tad because I was unable to find any Peppermint Andes Mints, so I substituted Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark instead...  

honestly I don't even think the candy is necessary and would likely make them without next time or at least chop it a little more than I did this time.

I also used Hershey's Special Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder instead of the Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder that is mentioned in the recipe and it worked wonderfully!

I was so very happy with how these cupcakes turned out... PERFECT

{ Do you see the dome/top on those babies? Like I said perfect. }

The frosting on these lovelies is Swiss Meringue Buttercream { my new FAVE } with a touch of
peppermint extract.

I found that the Swiss Meringue is very similar to the Italian Meringue Buttercream that I've used before, except it's seems a tad easier to make { win. win. }

You may have noticed that another thing I chose to change or should I say leave out (if you looked at the recipe that is)...  was the chocolate drizzle, instead I topped the cupcakes with
a chunk of the peppermint bark-- making them simply perfect!

These cupcakes are absolutely delicious...
 the prefect blend of chocolate and peppermint with a hint of coffee
{ dare I say... better than an actual peppermint mocha... gasp! }

You need to try them yourself...  you will not be disappointed, well... as long as you don't
dislike peppermint.


Do you have a recipe you made for the holidays that you absolutely LOVED?
I would love to hear about it...  { smile }