mmmmm, vanille and peppermint cupcakes! i pulled out my santa plate from our holiday decor box and got inspired to make something sweet. i thought, vanilla and peppermint cupcakes sound like a treat!

i am a bit of a crafty hoarder. i love buying stuff on sale or just because, ’cause i know i will eventually use it or need it. as i ran through the ingredients and supplies in my head, i realized i only needed a few trinkets to finish out my baking adventure. sweet!

i rummaged downstairs inside the copious amount of craft boxes i have and found myself some holiday cupcake liners. i grabbed some decorative toppings too, had all the ingredients in the cupboard, and then went to the store to buy some marshmallows and peppermint candy canes.

[festive cupcake liners]

[bake, bake, bake away!]

i preheated the oven, made the batter, and then popped the pans into the oven. i then crushed the candy canes {i only used two…that was plenty for two dozen cupcakes} and set them aside for the decorating.

after the cupcakes were done baking, i set them on racks to cool. i added peppermint extract to the frosting {half a teaspoon to maybe two cups of frosting} and whipped it together. i then scooped the frosting into my piping container and pumped each cupcake with a generous amount of frosting.

[crushed candy canes]

i wanted to mix up the decorating, so i sprinkled some cupcakes with coconut {snow!} and added on the crushed peppermint. or i just added on the crushed peppermint and topped it off with the elf on the shelf. or i placed a vanilla marshmallow tree instead. i just alternated the decorative ingredients and voila! my sweet vanille and peppermint cupcakes! yum!

[i love my vintage santa plate]

[crushed peppermint, coconut, marshmallows, and elf on the shelf!]

all this thanks to my vintage santa plate, for inspiring me to bake something yummy! they were delicious and fun! they got rave reviews from grace, olive, and my husband’s co-workers! yay!

xoxo