Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

These are my DH's favorite cupcakes. He really loves them, and is always begging me to make them, so I figured that you ladies might want to share them with your mint chocolate chip loving husbands :)

They are easy, and all I did was take my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, I modified it to be able to add a nice amount of peppermint extract, added chocolate chips, and made a special frosting and that's it! Anyone can do it with their own favorite cupcake recipe :)

1 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon peppermint extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups of semi sweet or milk chocolate chips (your choice, I like semi-sweet, DH likes milk)

For the frosting (this is a buttercream frosting)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 or more cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

a few drops of green food coloring

1 cup of mini chocolate chips (your choice - i like semi-sweet)

To make cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 4 parts, alternating with the milk, vanilla and peppermint extract. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

For the frosting:

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. Then add a few drops of green food coloring, enough to make it a light pastel green!

When cupcakes are cool, frost them and top with mini chocolate chips :)

They come out fabulous!