Sigh. Is it Girl Scout Cookie season again already?!
Every year I try to evade them around this time.. going to grocery stores at weird hours, avoiding making eye contact with potential mothers and/or young girls wearing vests, and never carrying cash which is easy since I am consistently broke as it is.
But man, those chickadees are hustlers! I wouldn’t be surprised if they rotated through 24/7 shifts outside Walmarts and began carrying miniature ATMs. Hell, I think in a few years those girls will have created brain scanners so all they have to do is walk up to you, smile a toothless grin and whisper ‘Samoas’ while they make eye contact with you and mentally complete the transaction. Before you realize what happened you’ll have a purse filled with Thin Mints and your wallet will be audibly crying from beneath the boxes.
Ahem, Daisies? You best be crediting me when you inevitably swipe my brain scanning idea, capiche? I’ll take my payment in Samoas for life.
While Samoas are my clear favorite, I *do* have a serious soft spot for Thin Mints, too. Who can resist those deliciously crispy, delightfully minty cookies?! NO ONE! Whether you eat them straight outta the box or out of the freezer (both are yum!) they’re a major favorite among most people. Today, however, I put them into and on top of cupcakes which was an even better invention than my brain scanning thingamajig because the cupcakes were real, I could eat them, and science < cupcakes… obviously.
If you’re a Thin Mint fanatic I urge you to make these cupcakes! They’ll certainly satisfy that minty goodness in a plush, moist and scrumptiously sweet cupcake version!
- 1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients on back of box
- 1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 cup Andes mints, chopped
- FOR THIN MINT BUTTERCREAM:
- 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup Thin Mints, finely crushed
- 18 full Thin Mint cookies
- White non-pareils, if desired
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with about 18 paper liners. Prepare cake mix according to package directions with ingredients on back of the box. Beat in the two teaspoons of peppermint extract and the dry pudding mix and stir to combine. Lastly, fold in the Andes mints.
- Fill each muffin tin about ¾" full of batter. Bake for approx. 13-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with very few crumbs. Cool the cupcakes completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cocoa powder until combined and creamy. Beat in the vanilla & peppermint extracts. Gradually add the powdered sugar, about one cup at a time, until frosting is light and fluffy. Lastly, gently fold in the crushed Thin Mint cookies.
- Fill a piping bag attached with a closed-star tip with the frosting. Pipe the frosting high on top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with white non-pareils, if you'd like, and garnish with a Thin Mint cookie. Serve immediately. Store leftovers airtight in the fridge or room temperature for a few days.
Okay, here’s my super top secret when it comes to making Girl Scout cookie desserts: most stores carry knock-off Girl Scout cookie versions in their cookie/cracker aisle and I highly encourage you to use those when making desserts! There’s no point in wasting a box of $5 cookies just to grind them up, so save on the $2 package of knock-off Thin Mints to make these cupcakes and splurge on the real deal for unadulterated snacking. Hint: Keebler makes a Grasshopper cookie, and Great Value (Walmart’s store brand) makes a Fudge Mint cookie that are both comparable to GS Thin Mints!! Most brands also carry knock-off Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos and Samoas, too 🙂
Speaking of which… stay tuned for another Thin Mint and a Samoas recipe headed to the blog soon!!
Have a fantastical day!!
xo, Hayley
tanya says
That’s a whole lot of chocolate mint goodness right there-and I want it!
PapaLos - The Man, The Chef, The Dad says
The cupcakes look sinful. I’m a sucker for thin mints out of the freezer. Sadly, I haven’t helped the local girl scouts in their quest for world domination the last 2 years. It feels good but at the same time very, very depressing.
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says
WOAH! That is a whole lotta think mint deliciousness! I am sooooo into this one!
[email protected] says
LOLz!!! Yes, they are hustlers!! My Goddaughter is one of ’em! I can’t ever say NO, and that is why I have a cupboard dedicated to Samoas…sigh. After drooling over your cupcakes, looks like I’ll need one for thin mints, too!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Jordan was not good at the sales, I’m so glad she quit!! And…I want to live in that frosting thankyouverymuch.
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
I love these cupcakes! Great use of one of my favorite cookies 🙂
I know what you mean about avoiding Girl Scouts. I can’t control myself around those cookies!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
I used to be a little hustler. ahhh the good old days.
Tagalongs, Thin mints, and Samoas. The holy 3 of cookies.
Thin Mint Cupcakes sound AHHHMAZING–they’re so pretttyyyy!
(P.S. I love how often your cute little unicorn pops up in the bg of your pictures)
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
These look amazing! You have the perfect swirl of frosting on them!
Tieghan says
Amazing! These look so good. That frosting?? Need that!
Julianne @ Beyond Frosting says
I want to FACE DIVE right into that frosting! OH EM GEE
Sam says
I LOVE recipes based off of Girl Scout cookies (I just made my own Samoa inspired cookie recipe actually)! These look delicious. Thin mints are my boyfriend’a favorite, I think I’ll have to try to make these for him!
[email protected] says
That frosting!! Want it! Really, I love everything about these cupcakes. 🙂 Pinning!
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
I want to eat spoon after spoon of this buttercream! I haven’t seen a girl scout selling cookies all year. I’m totally missing out!
Renee @ Awesome on $20 says
Can you believe I didn’t see a single Girl Scout this year? I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.