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Thin Mint Cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day

mint cupcakes

‘Tis the season of Girl Scout cookies and there is none more famous and beloved than the thin mint, at least in my house. I love Girl Scout cookies, both for the memories of being a scout and for what they represent; empowering kids is always a good thing. Sadly, the days of my 13-year-old metabolism are long gone, when I was capable of eating an entire box at a sitting. Now just a couple cookies will do me and the thin mints are still my favorites. They just seemed to have the perfect ratio of chocolate to mint, and go down easy with a glass of milk. I have to act quickly, because my boys are still at the age when they can polish off an entire box, even though mom would never allow such a thing. 😉

This cupcake recipe manages to be light, fluffy and moist, all at the same time. It starts with a true all-American white birthday cake. The recipe is made with whipped egg whites and no yolks, so the color is bright white. It’s perfect for adding color, but this time I left that to the mint icing. A thin layer of ganache between the cake and icing makes these just a touch more sophisticated, in case you are looking for a St. Patrick’s Day treat to bring to work. The super creamy icing is one that I made from Vintage Cakes, an adorable addition to my cookbook collection. It is made by thickening milk and flour together into a smooth paste, then adding it to creamed, sweetened butter. The thickened milk and flour gives the icing body and a luxurious texture. Despite the extra step, it is an easy recipe, my 11-year-old made it start to finish with perfect results. The basic icing takes flavors really well, so a bit of mint extract and a few caps full of Crème de menthe and these cupcakes taste just like a thin mint.

mint cupcakes

Thin Mint Cupcakes

Follow along with the steps and get the full recipe below.

 

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To make and bake the thin mint cupcakes:

Prepare muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the middle of oven.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar and oil. Add 1/3 of the flour and whisk to incorporate. whisk in 1/2 the milk.  Repeat with another  1/3 of the flour, and the remaining milk. Finish with the last of the flour, add the vanilla and mix until well combined.

Whip the egg whites in a clean bowl until foamy, then gradually sprinkle the remaining sugar over them and beat until eggs are soft peaks. You can see in my picture that they will not droop off the whip when lifted out of the egg foam, but they won’t have a stiff peak either.

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Gently fold the whites into the batter.

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Divide the batter in to the cupcake liners.

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Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until just starting to turn golden on the edges and a tester comes out clean.

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To make the ganache:

In a saucepan heat the cream to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the chocolate and butter. Swirl the pan to make sure the chocolate is totally covered by the hot cream and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Add the salt and mint, gently whisk until smooth.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the ganache over the cupcakes and smooth it to the edge, without going over.

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Allow the cupcakes to sit in a cool spot so the ganache will harden slightly. If you are in a rush, refrigerate them for 10 minutes.

To make the icing:

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In a saucepan whisk together the flour and half-and-half over medium heat.

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Continue whisking until the mixture thickens.

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Put the mixture into a container and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until just cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes or 15 in the freezer. Cream the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the cooled flour/milk mixture and whip until perfectly smooth. Add the mint extract, Crème de menthe and green food coloring.

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Once the ganache has set, fill a pastry bag, fitted with a large star tip, with the icing and decorate the cupcakes. Leave a bit of the ganache showing under the icing.

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Sprinkle with the green sprinkles.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Thin Mint Cupcakes

Thin Mint Cupcakes

The classic flavor of thin mint in cupcake form. The cake in these is light, fluffy and moist, and these beautiful green cupcakes are perfect for a special occasion that calls for bright colors and delicious, fun snacks.
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Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcakes

  • 2 ¾ cups sifted cake flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • cup vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 egg whites

Ganache

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp mint extract

Mint Icing

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup superfine sugar sold as baker’s sugar or you can make your own by pulsing sugar in a food processor
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp mint extract
  • 1 tbsp creme de menthe
  • 1 drop green food coloring

Instructions

  • Prepare muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the middle of oven.
  • Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar and oil. Add 1/3 of the flour and whisk to incorporate. Whisk in 1/2 the milk. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour, and the remaining milk. Finish with the last of the flour, add the vanilla and mix until well combined.
  • Whip the egg whites in a clean bowl until foamy, then gradually sprinkle the remaining sugar over them and beat until eggs are soft peaks. You can see in my picture that they will not drop off the whip when lifted out of the egg foam, but they won’t have a stiff peak either.
  • Gently fold the whites into the batter. Divide the batter in to the cupcake liners.
  • Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until just starting to turn golden on the edges and a tester comes out clean.

Ganache

  • In a saucepan heat the cream to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the chocolate and butter. Swirl the pan to make sure the chocolate is totally covered by the hot cream and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Add the salt and mint, gently whisk until smooth.
  • Spoon 1 tablespoon of the ganache over the cupcakes and smooth it to the edge, without going over.
  • Allow the cupcakes to sit in a cool spot so the ganache will harden slightly. If you are in a rush, refrigerate them for 10 minutes.

Icing

  • In a saucepan whisk together the flour and half-and-half over medium heat. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens.
  • Put the mixture into a container and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until just cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes or 15 in the freezer. Cream the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the cooled flour/milk mixture and whip until perfectly smooth. Add the mint extract, Crème de menthe and green food coloring.
  • Once the ganache has set, fill a pastry bag, fitted with a large star tip, with the icing and decorate the cupcakes. Leave a bit of the ganache showing under the icing. Sprinkle with the green sprinkles.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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12 thoughts to “Thin Mint Cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day”

  1. These look scrumptious! Love the addition of chocolate ganache. Also, though I’m way beyond the age of being able to do this without consequence, I still find myself having polished off an entire box of Thin Mints in one sitting. Oops. 🙂

  2. Beautiful! Can’t wait to make these, I just bought a box of thin mint cookies from a girlscout’s Mom. She made me do it.( LOL) I keep mine in the freezer. 1. To hide them from everyone else and 2.They taste so much better like that.

  3. These are so beautiful! The Thin Mints were my favorite Girl Scouts cookies – and one of the only things I liked about Girl Scouts, the cookies and the S’Mores. I’ll be these beauties taste fabulous! I’d even celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for a couple of these cupcakes!

  4. Can anyone tell me about how many mini cupcakes this recipe makes? I’m trying to figure out whether I need to double it…

    1. Hi Marti,

      Generally the mini cups will take 1/3 the amount of batter, so this recipe should yield about 72 mini cupcakes.

      Thanks, Zoë

  5. Zoe! Oh how you have inspired me!

    I was looking up cake ideas via pinterest and stumbled onto your website. I love, love, love it! You make things so easy to learn and I love the lay out of your site. I have tried to find other baking blogs and nothing compares to yours. Lovely work and I love the videos too!

    I am a big fan!

    xox
    Ziba

  6. I’m sorry, what’s half-and-half and Crème de menthe? I’m from Uruguay and i haven’t heard of those before.. Thank you!

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