Thin Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Thin mints are my absolute favorite Girl Scout cookie, so what better dessert than to turn them into cupcakes!?  If you happen to miss Girl Scout cookie season, you can pick up Grasshoppers, and they work fine in the recipe below.  Sorry I forgot to take pictures, but I will next time- and there will definitely be a next time!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 3/4 cup cake flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1.5 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 eggs (2 whole eggs + 1 egg white)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup boiling water

20 Andes mints, cut into small pieces (I cut each one into 8 pieces) OR 24 thin mint cookies

8 oz dark chocolate, grated or chopped very fine

1 cup cream

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp mint essense

30 Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, chopped very fine

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk , oil, and vanilla essence together.

2.  Sift in the sugar, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk until well mixed (do not over mix).

3.  Line 24 cupcake molds with liners.  Fill the cups ~1/2 full.  Add a few Andes mint pieces to each cup (OR place a whole thin mint cookie on top- it will sink in).

4.  Bake at 350 F for 17-20 mins.  Let them cool completely before decorating.

5.  Make the mint chocolate ganache-  Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan on the stove until almost boiling.  Immediately pour the cream on top of the chocolate and let it sit for 2 mins.  Then, add the butter and mint essence.  Whisk, (start in the middle until it begins to come together) until it is smooth and shiny.

6.  Place the chopped Thin Mints in a small bowl.

7.  Assemble the cupcakes by dipping them in the ganache (let the excess drip off), then pressing the top in the chopped Thin Mints.