Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
Mini vanilla cupcakes topped off with peppermint buttercream frosting and crushed peppermint candy. A perfect holiday dessert!
Today we’re celebrating… babies, sugar, mini things and butter. Okay, just one of those really. But we can pretend we’re celebrating the rest because you know you want to eat a dozen mini cupcakes, right? So that’s totally celebrating. And since we’re celebrating, a little indulging is totally allowed.
Do you know Audra of The Baker Chick? She’s super sweet and quite frankly one of the cutest pregnant women I’ve ever seen. It seemed fitting to share something mini for her virtual baby shower. Babies and mini things just seem to go hand and hand. Mini socks and shoes to cover mini toes. Mini fingers and ahhh babies… they’re tiny and cute but they definitely don’t stay tiny for very long.
I couldn’t resist the urge to add a fun seasonal twist to these mini cupcakes. I totally could’ve eaten the peppermint buttercream with a spoon. So delicious! Don’t worry, the recipe makes plenty so you can sneak a bit. I promise not to tell. A perfect holiday recipe for light and fluffy bite sized vanilla cupcakes, topped off with peppermint buttercream frosting and crushed peppermint candy. An absolute must make for all of your holiday events or just because!
Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
Ingredients
Cupcake ingredients:
- 1/4 C unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 C milk
- 3/4 C all purpose flour
Buttercream:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 2 C powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 2-3 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a mini muffin pan with liners.
- Cream together butter and granulated sugar. Add vanilla and egg whites. Once mixture is lump free, add remaining dry ingredients followed by milk. Mix until ingredients are just combined. Divide among 18-20 liners, roughly 3/4 full. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar and peppermint. Slowly add water until desired icing consistency is reached. Cover well until ready to use.
- Frost cupcakes once they have cooled completely.
These are the cutest little cupcakes! I’ll definitely take you up on sneaking some of that frosting;-)
We should have a frosting party sometime! Total sugar overload but worth it. :)
I love the toppings on these adorable little cupcakes! Yum :)
Thanks Ali!
Oh my gosh!! These are seriously the cutest! I love that the frosting looks like pillowy goodness! I love the peppermint crumbles on top – perfect for the holidays and so perfect for Audra’s shower :)
Too bad the cupcake places didn’t have minis lol we probably would have eaten less.
She totally is the cutest pregnant girl… and these cupcakes sound deeeeelicious!
Haha! Thanks Julia
Peppermint buttercream? I think I could eat a whole bowl of the frosting!
So hard to resist! :)
Rachel these cupcakes are absolutely adorable and would be just perfect for any holiday party dessert spread.
Thank you so much for your sweet words and for being part of my “shower” I am so lucky to have such sweet blogging friends! xoxo
I hope you enjoy your day!! Too bad it couldn’t be in person. That would have been so much fun!
Those look adorable! I never make minis, but I have a pan, this is very tempting… I have a question though, where is the peppermint listed in the cake mix instructions coming from? (it’s not in the ingredients) Are the cakes peppermint too?
The cupcakes are vanilla so they’re more mellow but you’re welcome to substitute the vanilla in the cupcake portion to be peppermint if you prefer the entire cupcake and frosting to have the same flavor.
So festive! That frosting looks gorgeous.
Thanks Jennifer!
Love these! Ugh this makes me wish we were having this shower in real life so I could scarf one (or 10) of these down. ;)
Right?! Virtual showers are torture lol I want to eat it all!
These are adorable and sound delicious too!
Thanks so much! :)
So cute and festive! Looking at all these treats for the shower today makes me wish it were happening in real life.
I know! We really need to plan better lol :)
Wow! I bet that buttercream tastes amazing :) Yum!
It absolutely does! And thank you :)
These are BEYOND precious! Yes, mini EVERYTHING for baby showers! LOVE these!
Thanks so much! :)
Mini cupcakes and peppermint? I would probably eat all 18 myself, I cannot be trusted around such things :)
Totally understand lol And thanks! :)
These cupcakes are very beautiful!! Love peppermint anything. The shower is so sweet and it’s making me go “aww” and “ahh” as I go through the posts. Blogging community is the best! I hope Audra had a great day.
Thanks so much! I hope she enjoyed it too :)
Adorable. Can I have one or two or three? This buttercream sounds too good for words! What a wonderful way to celebrate a sweet mama and her babe to be!
Thanks so much! And yes… two or three easily :)
Mini cupcakes! Peppermint! Vanilla! All of my favorite things :) love these, and they look so darned cute as well. Pinned!
Thanks Rachel!
Ohhh I could totally eat that frosting with a spoon too! Yummmm!
It never ceases to amaze me how all food tastes better in mini form…maybe because I can eat more of it without any guilt? These are adorable! I am so ready for the peppermint sweet treat infusion to begin!
Less guilt, definitely. Plus you can sample more ;)
they look like perfect cupcakes!
Thanks Dina!
With the peppermint craze that I have going on right now, I really just want a bowl of that frosting and a spoon! Love these fun cupcakes!!!
I wish I had that in front of me right now too ;)
Rachel!!! I am dying over how cute these mini cupcakes are!!!
Aww thanks so much Ashley!
Oh yum, these look so perfect! I can’t wait to taste this peppermint buttercream :)
I’m confused. The ingredient list doesn’t show peppermint for the cupcakes but the directions say add the peppermint.
Whoops! Sorry about that. Peppermint on the brain. There is no peppermint in the cupcake, only vanilla. But you’re welcome to substitute peppermint for the vanilla in the cupcake if you wish.
Nah. I want to make then just like the recipe. :) Just wanted to make sure I was reading it right. Thanks for your reply! Can’t wait to make them!
No problem. Enjoy! :)
I made these last night for my son’s class. They were delicious and the kids gobbled them up. Great recipe. Thank you.
So glad everyone enjoyed them, Gabriela! Thanks so much for sharing.