In my mind, there are 3 kinds of people during the holidays:
1) The Crazies: And I say crazy in a good way. These people are fanatical about the holidays and start decorating in October. Their houses are decked out (I’m talking National Lampoon’s Christmas decked out, they always make homemade gifts and always win the annual family “ugly sweater contest.” Like always. Every single year.
2) The Festive Ones: They enjoy the holidays but don’t go overboard. Holiday baking is usually happening in their kitchens and the radio station that plays holiday music 24/7 is on occasionally, they have their act together for the most part but still have lots of loose ends come December 21st. OK this might be me.
3) The Scrooges: Self explanatory .. they don’t like the holidays and can’t wait until everything is over.
Yes, you may have guessed it. I’m a festive one. I really enjoy the holidays and after being in Wisconsin last Christmas where we had our first real white Christmas. . like had to break out the snow blower white Christmas, I have to say . . Christmas is better with snow.
And cupcakes are better with candy canes and peppermint.
It’s only December 10 and we have like 50 candy canes (more if you count the mini ones) laying around the house. It’s not all me. . they seem to call my name when I’m shopping. . and my kids like them too so we pick up more.
So, what’s a girl to do with an abundance of candy canes in the house?
Oh, yes I did.
We’re big on trying new things here at my house. My kids are big on this too .. my little one dips her tortilla chips in applesauce and will eat carrots with Nutella. . so why not try a peanut butter and peppermint baked treat?
Only good things can happen when Mighty Maple is involved.
So, I simply swirled some peanut butter into my cake batter and sprinkled the crushed candy canes and peppermint crunch baking chips on top of the frosting. These were so yummy! You don’t get peanut butter with every bite, but when you do, it’s awesome and delicious.
If you’ve never tried Peanut Butter & Co’s peanut butter, you really need to. It’s delicious. And since it’s the holidays and we’re feeling festive, we’re giving away a couple peanut butters (you get to choose the flavors!) to one lucky winner! So, enter using the widget below and happy holidays!
Christmas Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box devil's food cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- vanilla frosting homemade or store bought
- crushed candy canes
- Andes peppermint crunch baking chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Using a large mixing bowl, combine the devil's food cake cake mix, eggs, oil, sour cream, buttermilk and vanilla extract until smooth. Swirl in the peanut butter and fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for at least 20 to 25 minutes before frosting.
- To frost the cupcakes: I used a Wilton 2D tip. Pipe out the frosting in a circular motion until you have the height you want. Sprinkle on crushed candy cane pieces and the Andes peppermint crunch baking chips. Enjoy!
Totally inspired by Your Cup of Cake.
The Giveaway!!
(my apologies! open to residents within the United States only).
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. The giveaway is sponsored by Peanut Butter & Co. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.