Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So, I had another drama in the kitchen this week. Only this one's a bit harder to fix.

Friday night. I am continuing my Cupcake Baking Extravaganza. I have 3 more recipes I wanted to try out this weekend, making small batches and taking all finished products to work. My coworkers are eagerly awaiting Monday.

I pull out this recipe first, it's from How To Eat A Cupcake. Chocolate and mint, can't go wrong with that! And I have some Godiva chocolate-covered mint candies I was dying to use for decoration. Perfect. So I preheat the oven, and whip together the batter. I fill my muffin pan with liners and plop in the batter (the batter was surprisingly thick, hence plopping rather than pouring/ladeling). I put the pan in the oven and set my timer.

After about ten minutes, I hear this strange fizzling noise. It's coming from the oven. Did my super-thick batter explode all over, and is now baking to the walls of my oven? I'm a little confused, so I open the door and peek inside.

And there are flames emitting from the oven's heating coil.

Aaah! I snatched out the muffin pan (must save the cupcakes!) and turned the oven off. The flames went out as the oven started to cool. And my oven is officially dead. On my weekend of Cupcake Baking Extravaganza. No. This can't be happening.

So, I put in a call to the landlord, and hopefully it's as easy as replacing the heating coil. Cross your fingers, anyway. In an attempt to salvage my half-baked cupcakes, I smooshed the batter-filled paper liners onto a plate and nuked the suckers in the microwave. They are a bit mis-shapen and blobby and a wee bit dry, but they still taste really good.

These cupcakes taste just like Andes mints. The cake is dense and rich and chcolatey, with a hint of the mint flavoring. The light buttercream on top has a deeper mint flavor, and balances the heavy cake really well.

Enjoy these! It's probably the last goodie from my oven for a bit, until the darn thing is fixed. Once that's done though, I've got a few interesting recipes up my sleeve...

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. (2 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped, melted

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1/2 c. chocolate milk

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. (6 oz.) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat the melted chocolate into the butter mixture. Add the eggs, peppermint extract, and chocolate milk. Beat until creamy.

In a separate medium-sized bowl combine the flour and baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and beat until well blended (careful not to over-beat the batter). With a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3-3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan.

Mint Buttercream:

3 c. confectioner's sugar + 3 Tbsp.

1 c. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. milk

Pinch salt

1 tsp. mint extract

Green food coloring

In a small bowl using an electric mixer on low, beat together sugar, butter, milk, and salt until creamy. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring, beating until frosting is smooth.

Spread icing on cooled cupcakes with a knife or transfer to a pastry bag and pipe over cupcakes.