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Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes In A Jar- easy chocolate cupcakes with a peppermint cream cheese frosting, peppermint candies all served in mason jars!
If you have ever made cupcakes for a get together and then drove them to the party only to find they took a tumble on the way. Then you are going to love these cupcakes.Â
I love these cupcakes for two reasons, well three. They can be made in one bowl. And all you need is a whisk. Ok well and the fact that they are chocolate. And the easy travel factor. Ok that’s actually four reasons.Â
If you leave your cream cheese and butter out for your frosting, you could even make that without a whisk. After your cupcakes are in the oven, simply rinse your bowl out, wipe it down with a paper towel and you would be ready to make your frosting in the same bowl! I love not having to break out a ton of mixing bowls, don’t you?
I mean cupcakes are already da’ bomb (yup I’m bringing that phrase back) but cupcakes in jars is like da’ bomb x 1000. I know you’re thinking seriously? Could they be much better? Oh yes. Trust me. Â Cupcakes in jars means they stay moist and every bite has a little bit of cupcake and frosting. It’s the perfect ratio of frosting to cupcake. They also stay moist for days since you can just pop the lid on these and open and eat them one at a time. Ok so maybe that’s a total gym buster actually and maybe not a good thing.Â
The chocolate cupcake for these are my go to chocolate cake recipe that I have used to make countless of different cupcakes on this blog before. Like these candy cane cupcakes and these white chocolate peppermint cupcakes. The recipe is from Hershey’s Kitchens- it’s so easy and they come out perfect every time!
How To Make These Easy Chocolate CupcakesÂ
These easy chocolate cupcakes are my variation from the perfectly chocolate cake from Hershey’s Kitchens. You could stick to the original recipe, but I love my little twist on them- adding espresso powder. Adding espresso, or strongly brewed coffee to anything chocolate brings out the flavor of the chocolate.
First things first. Prepare your pans and pre-heat that oven. My Favorite Go To Cupcake Liners Are These.Â
This is a  one bowl cupcake recipe that couldn’t get easier. Yes one bowl. I told you this is the only recipe you will ever need.
In a large bowl you need to combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) and simply whisk to combine.
In the same bowl you then add your wet ingredients- milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and eggs. And whisk, whisk, whisk again.
Then you need to add in your boiling water. I add in the espresso powder to the boiling water before adding to the cupcake batter. Be careful at this point, when stirring in the hot espresso water. The batter will be thin.
To fill your cupcake pans, I find it easiest to pour the batter into a liquid measuring cup and pour then into my cupcake pans.
You want to fill these up about 3/4 of the way to leave a bit of room for them to rise and create that beautiful domed cupcake.Â
Tips For Making Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
- Be sure to measure your flour accurately. For a full tutorial on how and why, read this post.
- Be sure to use natural unsweetened cocoa powder not dutch process. They are not the same. You can read about the differences here.
- When baking these, it’s best to rotate the pans halfway through their baking time. Every oven can have hot spots so they may not bake evenly. Give them a turn in the oven, so they all bake up pretty.
- Once they are baked, be sure to take them out of the pans and cool on a cooling rack. Leaving them in your pans means they will continue to bake and could end up dry.
Then I thought these would go so well with a peppermint cream cheese frosting. This is my go to cream cheese frosting, with peppermint extract, and crushed candy cane bits thrown in.Â
To make the frosting you actually will cream together COLD cream cheese and softened butter. Cold cream cheese will hold up better in the frosting so you don’t end up with a whimpy buttercream in the end.
I make this simple by just combining all the ingredients and mixing until smooth. No need to sift the powdered sugar!
How To Assemble These Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes In A Mason Jar
You can assemble these two ways. You can cut the cupcakes in half. Then place one half of the cupcake in the mason jar, swirl in some frosting, another cupcake half and then more frosting. Depending on the size of the cupcakes and the frosting you may have room for one more half of a cupcake and more frosting.
You could also put a whole cupcake in if you don’t feel like cutting them in half, but I think the ratio of cupcake to buttercream is better if they are cut in half.
Then to top these little jars off, I sprinkled in some crushed peppermint candies which adds some fun color and crunch!Â
So have a little fun this holiday season and make something unexpected for your guests and make these super fun and crazy good peppermint chocolate cupcakes in a jar!
Listed below is the essential equipment to make these cookies. These are all tools I own, love, and use and would not recommend otherwise. Yes these are affiliate links. Yes they will redirect you to Amazon. Yes I make a small commission if you make a purchase. No it doesn’t cost you any extra ?So thank you in advance if you do make a purchase because it helps to keep this blog running!
Baking Essentials:
- Cupcake Pans (you want two!)
- Cooling Racks
- Piping/Pastry Bags
- Ateco Tip #847
- Mason Jars
- Stand Mixer
- Dry Measuring Cups and spoons
Until next time, happy baking!
Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes In A Jar
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- For the Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 13 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
- 6 cups confectioner sugar
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare cupcake pans by spraying generously with non-stick cooking spray. You could also use cupcake liners, but you do not need them since will be placing these in jars when they are done so just be sure they are sprayed generously.
- In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water. Batter will be very thin at this point.
- Pour into cupcake pans. Fill about 2/3 full.
- Bake about 22-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before placing them in the jars.
- Prepare the frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in your stand mixer bowl and mix to combine. Add the confectioner sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition and using a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed. Add the extract and mix to combine. Place the frosting in a piping bag with Ateco Tip #847.
- In each mason jar layer a cupcake with frosting and repeat. You can also cut the cupcakes in half and layer them that way too.
Notes
- Be sure to measure your flour accurately. For a full tutorial on how and why, read this post.Â
- Be sure to use natural unsweetened cocoa powder not dutch process. They are not the same. You can read about the differences here.
- When baking these, it’s best to rotate the pans halfway through their baking time. Every oven can have hot spots so they may not bake evenly. Give them a turn in the oven, so they all bake up pretty.
- Once they are baked, be sure to take them out of the pans and cool on a cooling rack. Leaving them in your pans means they will continue to bake and could end up dry.
- While making the frosting, make sure to use cold cream cheese so you end up with a frosting that can hold up and not be all whimpy.
- To assemble these, I recommend cutting the cupcakes in half and layering one half of a cupcake with frosting. I repeat for a total of 3 layers (1 1/2 cupcakes per jar)
Nutrition
Kumiko @ The Budget Mom says
Pancakes in a jar…yes please! These look delicious!
forevermommoments says
These look so good! Your photos are stellar too btw 😉
Heather @Boston Girl Bakes says
Thank you…and for the photo compliment that means the world to me! 🙂
michelle says
I think you might be a genius. This is great!
Heather @Boston Girl Bakes says
Oh Michelle you are too kind…blushing on this side of the screen..:) thank you!