Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

For our church Christmas party I was in charge of bringing a dessert.  I had some Andes candy cane bits that I wanted to use somehow, so I decided on mini chocolate cupcakes with a peppermint frosting.  My approach to frosting tends to be "mix some things together until it tastes good".  Sometimes this results in making WAY too much frosting in my effort to get it just right, but this time around it actually came together really well in easy measurements that I can actually remember :)

This frosting is nice because it has subtle flavours, isn't too sweet, and holds a piping shape well.  If you want a stronger peppermint flavour or a thicker frosting, just add a little extra extract and sugar! It makes enough to generously frost 24 regular sized cupcakes, 48 mini ones, a 9x13 cake, or a double layer 9" round cake (so basically, one box cake mix :)

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 8oz cream cheese (softened)
• 3-4 cups icing sugar
• 1-2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1-2 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Whip butter, cream cheese, 3 cups icing sugar, 1 tsp peppermint, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Add additional extracts to taste, and additional icing sugar to adjust consistency as needed.