Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Girl Scout Cookie Cupcakes

No list of chocolate mint cupcake recipes would be complete without replicating the famous thin mint girl scout cookies. This is also a fun recipe though because it features some unique things like vanilla pudding, crushed cookie topping, and a full cookie dipped into the buttercream frosting.

The cupcake itself is also green, and you don't see that often! Most mint chocolate cupcake recipes are featuring chocolate cupcakes with mint frosting. So we're going to get started with with white cake mix instead of chocolate so that we can add food coloring to make green cake.

Let's also add some vanilla pudding mix to our cake. I'm not sure what this does for the texture, but I assume it boosts the flavor and makes them moister than other cakes! If you haven't tried this method, you should.

Green food coloring isn't necessary, but it's fun to stick with the theme of green mint. Actually, we're going to use peppermint extract, which is typically though of as red (even though it's just clear extract).

Blend with a hand blender until smooth like you see in the photos here. You can also add chocolate chips to give your cake a chocolatey flavor enhancement. Chocolate chips in cupcakes are irresistible, no matter what color or flavor the cake is. Hey, couldn't you make mint chip  pancakes this way too?

Fill your muffin tin with cupcake liners and the drop some batter into each. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, but check them starting around 15-18 minutes so they don't burn!

Now it's time to start making the peppermint (mint) buttercream frosting.

If you have a cake mixer, this is so much easier. Whipping butter and sugar into a thick, fluffy frosting is not easy.

While the cupcakes are still baking, you can also crush up some Girl Scout thin mints (or similar chocolate cookie candy) to sprinkle on top. Freezing them first can help with making them brittle. Be sure to same some whole ones though. We're going to stick on in the cupcakes as a garnish.

The full recipe, including ingredients and amounts are featured in the video. There's no web page or recipe in the description of the video, so watch, learn, and bake!