Our peppermint cupcakes are bursting with peppermint flavor and topped with a fluffy buttercream frosting and crushed candy canes!

Looking for the perfect holiday cupcake recipe? Depending on which holiday is near, we have several. There’s the Eggnog Cupcake, Spiced Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream, Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting, and the list goes on.

Now, we have these peppermint cupcakes. The recipe is simple, sweet, and loaded with brisk peppermint flavor. To save a little time during preparation we used a boxed cake mix.

However, the buttercream is made the old-fashioned way with some added peppermint extract for flavor. We encourage you to give these peppermint cupcakes a try this holiday season.

How to make peppermint cupcakes with cake mix?

First, you’ll need to remove your butter from the fridge to soften. I recommend doing this about 2-hours before getting started.

Once the butter is soft, line a pan with cupcake liners, and preheat your oven to 350° F.

Next, grab a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer or use a stand mixer (if you have one).

Afterward, add the cake mix, egg whites, water, oil, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract to the bowl.

Now, combine the ingredients until the batter is smooth and no lumps of cake mix remain.

After that, fill each cupcake liner half-full with batter. Transfer the pan to your preheated oven.

Let the cupcakes bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Then, remove them from oven and transfer your cupcakes to a cooling rack. 

The cakes will need to cool completely before frosting (at least 30-minutes).

How to make peppermint frosting from scratch?

Again, you’ll need a large mixing bowl and hand mixer or use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.

Combine the mixture into a smooth buttercream frosting. Complete a taste test and add more peppermint or vanilla extract as needed.

Once the frosting is done, use a piping bag, decorator, or butter knife to frost the cupcakes.

When the cupcakes are done, it’s time to make the optional candy cane garnish.

Open 20 mini candy canes and place them into a food processor. Pulse them until they’re crushed into small pieces.

Last, sprinkle the crushed peppermint candies over the cupcakes.

That’s it, your peppermint cupcakes are done! Kim and I hope you enjoy them and wish you all the best 🙂

Recipe Tips & FAQ’s:

• If you don’t want to use mini candy canes, then try using softer peppermint candies.
• For yellow cupcakes you have 2 options. Buy a yellow cake mix or use whole eggs instead of egg whites.
• To create a light and fluffy peppermint frosting, beat the butter by itself before adding the extracts and powdered sugar.
• When making these cupcakes, we used a 1/4-cup measuring cup to fill the liners half full with batter.

Other Peppermint Recipes To Try:

• Peppermint Truffles
• Peppermint Mocha
• Peppermint Patties
• Peppermint Ice Cream
• Peppermint Martini

Don’t forget to check out our Peppermint Cupcakes web story!