With December more than halfway through, it’s time once more for that pre-holiday scramble. Despite doing lots (too much?) of online shopping, I still needed to check a number of family and friends off my list. Eeek! To avoid undue stress (and breaking my budget) I spent a few hours on Sunday whipping up delicious homemade gifts in cupcake form.
I think I found the perfect creation this time—Our Best Bites’ Peppermint Fudge Cupcake Jars! Cupcakes are a no-brainer. Of course they will be loved! And using mason jars is awesome since they’re super easy to decorate and your friends are left with a festively decorated jar to treasure forever (or at least until they pack up their holiday decorations).
The recipe—listed below—walks you through every step on your way to the completed cupcake jars, and even includes a tutorial on making your own candy-cane striped icing! This made these treats easy to prepare, even though it was a multi-step process. A few words of wisdom:
- Make sure you pick up the right size mason jars. Mine were a little too tall and that makes for a really cake-heavy concoction.
- Definitely use heavy cream in the ganache. I didn’t on my first attempt and I had less than lovely results.
- You’ll need to beat the frosting for a good five minutes to get it to the right consistency. Don’t give up!
With my ganache poured and icing set, it was time to finish up this sweet project. I lined my piping bag with red gel dye and was careful to place the icing gently in the bag. It took a few squeezes for the candy-cane stripes to appear, but once they did I was in business. All that was left was a little decoration!
I bought some red ribbon, plain white stock for gift tags, and a cute stamp to spruce up the jars. If you’re feeling ambitious, a thicker fabric ribbon would look great glued around each one!
For a homemade gift, I’d say this ranks pretty high. It was cost effective to make and looks like I spent hours in the kitchen creating these cute little treats. What are you waiting for? Grab some mason jars and get baking!
Peppermint Fudge Cupcake Jars
Recipe by Our Best Bites
Makes approximately 8 jars or 12 Cupcakes
- Cupcakes (cake base for this dessert adapted from Shelly Kaldunski)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 oz chocolate, chopped. (or abt 1/2 C chips) Use bittersweet, dark, or semi-sweet.
- 1/2 C + 3 Tbs real butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 C plus 2 Tbs sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 8oz wide mouth mason jars (the short squatty kind)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Set mixture aside and let cool 10-15 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon (don’t use an electric mixer) stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until combined. Stir in the eggs one and a time, beating with your spoon until combined after each addition, and then beat in the vanilla. Gently fold in the flour mixture just until no traces of flour remain; do not over mix.
Place the mason jars on a cookie sheet. Divide the mixture evenly among the 8 jars (no need for greasing the jars) or 12 cupcake liners if you’re going that route. The jars should be about half full or a little less. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the jar comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached 22-25 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully (with a pot-holder!) transfer jars to a cooling rack. Let jars cool till at least close to room temperature before topping with ganache.
Peppermint Ganache
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips are fine)
1/2 C heavy cream
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
Place chocolate chips in a bowl. Heat cream in microwave until bubbles form around the outside. Pour in bowl over chocolate chips and immediately cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 5 minutes, add peppermint extract and then whisk until smooth. Let cool uncovered until thickened slightly, almost like a thin pudding.
To assemble, pour 1 1/2-2 Tbs ganache over the top of each cupcake jar. If desired, use a paring knife to first hollow out a well in the middle of the cake. Tilt jars to distribute ganache evenly over the top of the cake and then let cool for the ganache to set. If storing overnight, place lids and rings on jars and leave at room temperature.
Frosting
Use this frosting recipe, adding peppermint extract (in addition to the vanilla extract called for) at the end by 1/4 tsp to taste. I prefer at least 1/2 tsp. See instructions in the above post for creating a red and white striped look. Pipe frosting on each jar, being careful to leave room for the lid. If desired, sprinkle on some crushed candy canes and then screw on jar lids.
Storage: Note that just because these are in jars does not mean they are shelf stable for extended periods of time. Also, baked goods are always best fresh, that being said, here are a few storage options.
When fully made, store with lids on at room temp for a day or two. If made up to the ganache step (before frosting) you can screw lids on and store in the fridge for 3-4 days, then frost right before gifting. If you’d like to fully prepare them a day or two ahead of time, I would actually reverse the filling and topping. Core out the center of the cupcakes and fill with frosting. Place the “cap” of the cupcake back over the hole and then top the entire top with ganache and a sprinkling of candy cane. Store at room temp for 1-2 days or refrigerated for 3-4.
Photographs credited to Our Best Bites.
