Seasonal Flavor: Peppermint Patty Cupcake

On November first (if I can wait that long), my Christmas music goes on, and it stays on until my therapist (who has yet to be selected) makes me turn it off around April 14th-ish.  I know, there's, like, another holiday in there before Christmas.  In FACT, Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays.  It's the doorway to Christmas, after all.  Oh, and I heart turkey comas, my grandmother's dressing recipe, and the Macy's parade...and that whole 'get together with family and be thankful thingie.'  If I have to pick a seasonal holiday flavor though, I have got to go with peppermint.  I like the way it smells, I like the way it taste, and I appreciate a little candy that comes packaged up in cellophane.  I dig cellophane outfits on a candy, it just seems sanitary.  Last year I made peppermint sugar cookies I wrapped up just like this, and I decided at that time, I'd be making a cupcake this year.  I later saw an idea in Wilton where they attached little chocolate 'wrappers,' but I decided I wanted the 'real deal.'  I also decided I'd try this out in December, but then I saw there was another cupcake round up at Hoosier Homemade, and despite the fact that there is a workforce coming to rip out my sink, counters, and 1/4 of the floors in my house this week, I decided to bake some cupcakes anyway.  I don't know when they will finish up their work, and I can put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but I sure hope it's in time for next week's round up, or I need to locate my Easy Bake oven, and I don't have one. I'm sure my Mom sold it in a garage sale 25 or so years ago.  I don't think she'll want to go with me down that Memory Lane trip, so here's hoping I have an oven back up and running by next week when it's time for round two. 

In the meantime, here's my peppermint cupcake. 

Step One:  Whip up your favorite chocolate recipe.  Fill a liner about halfway full, add a peppermint patty, then cover that with more batter. 

Step Two:  Bake as directed. 

I didn't know how these would do having a peppermint patty that, I'm guessing, melted in the heating, and thus didn't require as much space, but only one caved in a little after it escaped from the oven. 

...and that's what icing is for, right?  Speaking of icing. 

Step Three:  Make some buttercream, but add a t. or 2 of peppermint flavor (depending on your love level for peppermint, you could even skip the flavor if you just want a hint via the cupcake). 

I covered the entire cupcake in white icing, then snipped the edge off a ziplock and piped on the red.  I don't expect Amazing Wedding Cakes to call just yet when they see this icing job, but I'm OK with that, did I mention I'm starting major kitchen remodeling tomorrow?  And when I say 'major'...I only mean new counters and a new backsplash, but I also believe in dramatizing any situation when the mood arises.  The mood has arisen. 

Step Four:  OK, and if you never listen to me ever again, you'll truly be in my circle of friends because I suspect they never listen to me ever....the end.  BUT, if you never listen to me ever again, and want to listen to me one time, if you want to slip a cupcake, or a cookie into cellophane, but not let the icing get all squishy 'n stuff, add some light karo syrup-about 1 T. per 3 c. or so.  Ice, and then let it sit out for a few hours, and it'll harden enough to hold it's shape, assuming you don't live in the dessert, or Amazon rain forest. 

Step Five:  Get a cellophane bag, and snip off the closed end.  Get the strings of your choice (this could have been super cute, but I was being dramatic and didn't take the time, and let's say less is more, and not less is lazy, OK?). 

I slipped the cupcake inside, tied the edges, took a bow, solved the crisis in the middle east, voted for governor, and came up with a cure for dust bunnies, and then ta da...a peppermint patty cupcake.

I sliced one uniced cupcake in half so you can see the inside,and so I could eat one.  Magically, the patty hardened back up, and it's delish if I do say so myself, and since myself is the only person blogging on this blog, myself is the only opinion that ever gets stated in living color. 

Now, I need to go make some friends for Peppermint Patty.

Linking To: 

Hoosier Homemade

Craft-O-Maniac

Trendy Treehouse

Night Owl Crafting

Blue Cricket Design