White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

These are THE BEST white chocolate peppermint cupcakes. Vanilla peppermint cupcakes topped with swirled white chocolate peppermint cream cheese frosting, a drizzle of white chocolate, and crush candy canes. They’re just as pretty as they are delicious and absolutely perfect for all of your holiday parties.

What Makes these White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes the best?

• Soft and bouncy vanilla cupcakes with just a hint of peppermint. Peppermint is such a fun holiday flavor, but can come off a bit like toothpaste if it’s not handled carefully. Resist the urge to add extra and let the vanilla extract balance it out.
• White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting. This frosting is unbelievably good. I had to resist the urge to eat it straight from the bowl.
• Candy Cane Crunch. I love a dessert that has a variety of textures and the Brach’s crushed candy canes that are sprinkled on top of these cupcakes are perfect for that little bit of crunch.
• Wow factor. I mean can you believe how beautiful these cupcakes are? The pretty two toned candy cane frosting, the white chocolate drip, the sprinkle of crushed candy canes. Over the top Christmas in the best way.

Ingredients

• Brach’s Crushed Candy Canes. The Christmas version of the cherry on top and a perfect bit of crunchy texture to balance the bouncy cupcakes and creamy frosting.
• Vanilla and Peppermint Extracts. Peppermint for the Christmas vibes, vanilla to balance it out.
• Cream Cheese. Use the full fat cream cheese to make this frosting as creamy, perfect, and indulgent as possible.
• White Chocolate. There’s white chocolate in the frosting and drizzled on top of these cupcakes. Grab a high quality white chocolate to ensure it melts well and easily incorporates into the frosting.

How to Make White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Make the Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans with 20 total cupcake liners and set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer) cream the butter and sugar until well combined and crumbly. Add the

Make the White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

In a small or medium mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and white chocolate and microwave in 30 second increments until smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl every couple of minutes to ensure that all of the butter and cream cheese is getting whipped.

With the mixer running on low, slowly drizzle about 3/4 of the cooled but still melted white chocolate into the frosting. Save the remaining melted white chocolate to drizzle on top of the completed cupcakes. Add the peppermint and vanilla and mix to combine. Then, add the powdered sugar 1/2 at a time mixing on low for 3 minutes after each addition. Add heavy cream 1 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consistency. I like mine to be soft and fluffy enough, but still firm enough to hold it’s shape when piped.

Remove 1/3 of the frosting from the bowl and color it red with gel food coloring. Spread the white and red frosting out into a long strip on plastic wrap and roll into a log, twisting the ends. Cut one end of both colors and place both logs into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

Assembly

Remove the cupcakes from the pan and then pipe the two toned peppermint frosting on top. Start in the middle and apply gentle pressure as you pipe around the edge while pulling upwards and in toward the center of the cupcake so that you end in the middle.

You may need to remelt the remaining white chocolate a bit. Microwave it in 10 second increments until its pourable, then drizzle it on top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle on the Brach’s Crushed Peppermint Candies and top with a Brach’s mini candy cane.

Tools & Equipment

• Stand Mixer or Handheld Electric Mixer. You’ll need an electric mixer for the frosting. Doing it by hand and achieving the same result isn’t possible.
• Piping Bag and Tips. I like to use disposable piping bags like these and the tip I reach for most often for cupcakes is the Wilton 8B, but you could also use a large round tip or the classic 1M.
• Large Cookie Scoop. This isn’t a must have, but I like to use a large 3 TBSP cookie scoop to scoop the cupcake batter to make sure that all of my cupcakes are the exact same size.
• Cupcake Pans & Liners. These are the cupcake pans I use, and I like to use these parchment cupcake liners.

White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake FAQs

• Can I make these gluten free? I have not tested it, but you should be fine to substitute the all purpose flour for a 1 to 1 gluten free flour replacement.
• Can I make these cupcakes ahead of time? You can bake the cupcakes and freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I recommend waiting to make the frosting until you are ready to serve the cupcakes.
• Can I leave out the white chocolate? If you’re not a huge fan of white chocolate, you can omit it in the frosting. Reduce the powdered sugar by 1/2 C.

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This post is sponsored by Brach’s Candy. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Buuck Farms Bakery possible.

If you loved this recipe for my White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes be sure to leave a star rating and review below and tag @buuckfarmsbakery on Tiktok and Instragram. To save this recipe for later, click on the Pinterest icon on the recipe card above or on any of the images throughout this post.

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