St. Patrick's Day

After last year's epic St. Patrick's Day fail, I swore I would plan ahead this year and make real corned beef in a crock pot or in the oven. Well, I'm pregnant now, and honestly just couldn't be bothered, plus I tried some corned beef at Costco and didn't even like it, so I decided all the effort was not worth it. Instead, I opted for a green themed meal.

I saw a recipe on one of the food blogs I follow for Crispy Gnocchi with Basil Pesto and thought that sounded perfect. So Nic and I went to the grocery store Saturday, in the rain, to track down all the ingredients. First of all, Nic decided that I did not need to make the sauce from scratch. He has been urging me to take it easy and thought this was a completely unnecessary way to make extra work for myself. So we picked up some pre-made pesto. Then to my disappointment, they did not have the good gnocchi. I really didn't want to eat sub-par gnocchi (especially while my mom and Tyler were in Italy enjoying the real deal) so we settled on green cheese stuffed spinach tortellini. This meal was getting easier by the second!

I did, however, insist that I get to make the dessert I had been dreaming up for the last few days and I'm so glad I did because it is one of my new favorites! I took one of my favorite cupcake recipes from Rachelle, red velvet chocolate chip cupcakes with peppermint cream cheese frosting, and transformed it into Green Velvet Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Mint Cream Cheese Frosting (and some Andes bits on top for good measure). They were ridiculously good!! I think I have found my new approach to St. Paddy's day: cut as many corners as possible on the meal (no matter what now, it will always be better than my 1st St. Paddy's day meal) and put all my efforts into a delicious dessert. Or, make these cupcakes every year as our new tradition because they are THAT good!!

Green Velvet Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2 -inch size)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain German chocolate cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 bottle (1 ounce) green food coloring
3 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate and mint chips
White Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon or scoop N cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.

3. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the White Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Frosting.

5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Place these cupcakes, uncovered or in a cake server, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Store the cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

White Chocolate Mint Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 1/2 inch size) generously
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces (half an 8-ounce package) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon mint extract
2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. Place the white chocolate in a small glass bowl in the microwave oven on high power for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the oven and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool.

2. Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the melted white chocolate and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Add the mint extract and 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar and blend on low until the sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds more. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the frosting is fluffy, 1 minute more, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar if needed to make a spreadable consistency.

Feel free to sprinkle Andes chips on top to make the cupcakes extra minty!