Junior Mint Cupcakes

Yesterday, I got a hankerin' for some cupcakes. Once I hit my third trimester, I developed the craziest sweet tooth. (Well, crazy for me considering my entire life, I've been a salt girl.) Good thing these new cravings came after I passed my glucose test with flying colors - no gestational 'betes for me! So, it's really no surprise that took it upon myself to make an inordinate number of cupcakes for Matt and me. The trickiest part of this decision was deciding what to make.

See, tonight (literally, as I type this) we're watching the Golden Globe awards. Matt and I are, unashamedly, huge pop culture nerds. Let's just say we watch a good amount of (only critically acclaimed, we swear!) television, and we love our movies. It's been our tradition for over a decade now to watch the show together. Also, we like the boozed up celebrities.

I wanted to make a theme-y sort of cupcake, and I scoured the Interwebs all day yesterday for something suitable for a red carpet event. I wasn't having any luck until I stopped into Walgreen's last night for mascara and Hot Tamales that I paused to consider the rest of the "movie theater candy." And then, by George, it hit me. Junior Mint cupcakes.

Turns out, there were approximately eighty-two recipes online for such a thing. So, I pulled a few steps from here and there and came up with my own easy recipe. No, they aren't from scratch, but if that's what you're feeling, I'm sure you can figure out a way to make things harder for yourself.

Junior Mint Cupcakes
Cupcakes:
-1 box of Devil's Food cake mix
-3 large eggs
-1 1/3 cups water
-1/2 vegetable oil
-3/4 teaspoon mint extract

Buttercream Frosting:
-1 cup butter, at room temperature
-3 cups powdered sugar
-dash of milk

Decoration:
-green sprinkles
-Junior Mints

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the ingredients for the cupcakes. Place 18 cupcake liners into two cupcake tins and fill each liner two-thirds full.
2. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
3. Let cupcakes cool completely before using a piping bag to frost each cupcake.
4. Sprinkle each cupcake and finish with a Junior Mint.