Peppermint Schnapps Swirl Cupcakes

It’s definitely holiday season, and what says festive more than a candy striped cupcake with booze in it? Anyone can make these fun cupcakes with store bought cake mix, frosting and just a nip of peppermint schnapps for that little extra kick of flavor. Easy yet impressive, these will be a total hit at any holiday party, and since they’re baked, they won’t actually get you drunk at your work holiday party. Just saying, you’ve got to keep it classy sometimes, even if schnapps is involved.

Ingredients

1 box betty crocker super moist white cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and egg whites as per box directions
1/2 tsp red food color
1/2 Tbsp peppermint schnapps (or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract if you’re so inclined)

store bought vanilla frosting
crushed candy canes or peppermint candies for sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F (or whatever the box says for the temperature). Prep white cake mix according to the box’s directions.

Fill bottom of each cupcake* with white cake batter. Separate 3/4 of a cup of the remaining white batter and mix in the peppermint schnapps and red food coloring until well mixed.

*There are so many ways people make cupcakes these days. Some still use the traditional metal cupcake baking pans with pleated wrappers. Some make them straight in a silicone pan. I used some Martha Stewart peppermint stripe baking cups that just baked freestanding on a cookie sheet. All methods work just fine, in my experience!

Carefully pour a layer of red batter on top of the white layer in for each cupcake. Then, top each cupcake with a final layer of white. Overall your cupcake forms should only be about 1/2 to 2/3-filled with batter to avoid overflow.

Bake according to the box’s cupcake baking directions, 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick stabbed into the cupcakes come out clean. Let cool before frosting and sprinkling as desired.

This recipe is a modified take on a traditional Peppermint Swirl Bundt Cake.