We passed and peppermints!!!

The good vibes, prayers, well wishes - they worked people!!! My kitchen passed inspection with flying colors! redvelvetcupcakes is officially licensed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. It feels awesome to have finally reached this point. It has been such a long and winding road to get to this point, but I know this is just the beginning of my journey. Now I can truly begin to live my dream - thanks for coming along for the ride.

As promised, I've been working on some yummy Christmas flavors. I've decided to focus on Gingerbread and Vanilla Peppermint. Oh wait, you say its too early to talk about Christmas when we haven't even reached Thanksgiving yet? Well, Target told me it was Christmas time three weeks ago when I was attempting to purchase some last minute Halloween items for my daughter's class party. It was October 30th and there was nothing Halloween related in store - garland was hanging from the ceilings along with those giant snowflakes, and Winter Wonderland was playing over the loudspeakers. The retailers skip over Thanksgiving it seems! But I digress, and again reiterate that its not to early to get in the Christmas mood!


Today, we're going to focus on Vanilla Peppermint. I must admit, I do not like peppermint. Yes, I realize that I've done a couple of posts abouts foods that I don't particularly like in their true form (sweet potatoes and pumpkin), or in any other form for that matter - but I do love them in a cupcake! Well, I am going to continue that tradition today. Now don't you worry I'm not going to make it a trend - we're not going to to a tomato cupcake or something crazy like that (some of you might like that - but tomatoes are one of those foods I won't eat whole, sliced or diced, but I love its "offspring" - ketchup, salsa, spaghetti sauce - you get the picture). My inspiration for this one came from the iconic candy cane. When you see it in the stores, you know its the Christmas season! Alas, I was always so annoyed whenever I went to the doctor's office or a friend's home around the holiday's and they happily gave me a red and white candy cane as a Christmas token. I always ended up giving it to my mom or brother....leaving me with nothing. Had they passed one of these babies out I think I may have had better peppermint memories as a child!

Seriously, I've made you wait long enough.......


The Vanilla Peppermint cupcake paired with vanilla peppermint frosting, topped with crushed candy canes. I know I say this about all of my cupcakes, but this one is really quite good. The vanilla is the perfect addition to both the cupcake and the frosting and cuts the "mintiness" of the peppermint just enough. We don't want a cupcake that tastes like peppermint mouthwash do we? Well, I don't anyway. This cupcake isn't too sweet, and has the classic peppermint flavor without being overpowering.


This is a perfect holiday cupcake.....why not try something a little different. If you like peppermint, this is the cupcake for you.

Until next time, spreading happiness one cupcake at a time!