Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Icing!

This week took a thankful turn for the better towards the end. Track was pretty good. Early release on Friday. Friends brighten everything up. Snow is beautiful. Food is tasty. Snoop is lazy. God is good. This next verse was especially true this week:

Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. -Psalm 37:5

And for food: I made these lovely little things for my friends for Valentine's

Cupcakes

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devils food cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Set cupcake baking cups onto a cookie sheet.
   
3. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, water, sour cream, and vanilla.
   
4. Beat until smooth.
   
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
   
6. Fill cupcake cups half-way/ three-quarters of the way full.
   
7. Bake for 35ish minutes.
8. Try not to eat them before the icing is done.

Icing

6 ounces white chocolate

8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract

4-5 cups powdered sugar (basically, until it tastes right)

1/8 teaspoon food coloring (I used green because it was the only color in the house)

1- Chop white chocolate coarsely.
2- Put chocolate into a bowl and microwave for 75 seconds.
3- Stir white chocolate until smooth and put aside to cool
4-Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl.
5- Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined
6- Add the melted white chocolate and blend on low speed until just combined
7- Add the peppermint extract and food coloring
8-Blend powdered sugar (one cup at a time) in until it looks like and tastes like icing.

9- Put icing on cupcakes once they cool
10- Adorn with Hershey's Bliss Chocolates
Try not to stuff your face until after you know you have extras.