Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes #Recipe and #Book giveaway from @DarylWoodGerber

Welcome to Mystery Lovers Kitchen's Christmas Week...a week filled with recipes for the holidays and good cheer!


I love this week. We all come up with some of the most fun meal and dessert items. I've made many of the recipes shared by my blogmates.

By the way, do you know there will be at least 7 books out by all of us between December and March? Actually, it might be 8…or 9...hmmm.

Krista, Cleo, and Victoria (MaryJane) all just had a release in December. Krista hit the New York Times paperback with her Murder, She Barked. Congrats, Krista!!!

Sheila, Lucy, Peg/Meg, Avery/Daryl will have books out in February and March. We're hoping we can have some of that magic rub off on us.

No matter what, we all need our sugar and/or chocolate to keep us going!

By the way, I'm having a giveaway today, so remember to read to the end. :)

When it comes to Christmas, I like getting the kids involved. How else can you build memories? 

It's important to me that kids like to cook. It helps them with chemistry (measuring); math (learning those fractions); and art (they have to make masterpieces with the sprinkles). They learn what flavors they like. They learn how lo-o-o-ong it takes to cook something and, thus, appreciate you more when you do slave over a hot stove. 

Sometimes we put on Christmas music and sing. Most importantly, we laugh. 

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT-FILLLED CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix (regular or gluten-free)

1 pkg. chocolate instant pudding

4 eggs

¾ cup safflower oil

¾ cup milk

1 teaspoon peppermint oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Dump all the ingredients into a bowl. Mix. How easy is that?!! 

Pour into cupcake holders, about 2/3 full. Do not overfill or the batter will rise out the top. Cook  12-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. The top should spring back if pressed lightly with your finger.

Cool 10 minutes.

To fill with icing:

Cut out the center top of a cupcake. Fill a pastry tube (or you can make your own by using a large baggie and cutting a small tip at the end) with the icing. Squeeze about a tablespoon of icing into the hole. Put the top of the cupcake back on.

Frost as you normally would. Sprinkle with peppermint or colored sugar.

Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.

Peppermint icing

Ingredients:

(Frosts 2 dozen cupcakes)

1/2 cup butter (8 tablespoons)

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil

Directions: Mix all the ingredients until creamy using a mixer, whipping on high. I made mini-cupcakes, as well, but I didn't put frosting in the middle. Perfect size for little mouths! I'm sure you could. To print this recipe, you can get them from my website (click the pictures): Giveaway: What's your favorite holiday food?? For one commenter today, I'm giving away a stocking stuffer book!  Your choice of one of the first four Cheese Shop Mysteries or the first in a Cookbook Nook Mystery.  For one other commenter, I have a special sneak preview Advanced Reader Copy of Inherit the Word, the second in the Cookbook Nook mystery series. REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL IN YOUR POST SO I CAN CONTACT YOU!! Merry, Merry!

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TWO NEW BOOKS COMING IN EARLY 2014!!

Days of Wine and Roquefort Feb 2014, preorder here

Inherit the Word March 2014, preorder here

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