...and a Happy New Year!

So, I guess I'm on a peppermint kick now.  Tonight, my friend Marie (remember her...she LOVES peppermint) came to NJ for dinner.  I made a delicious (if I do say so myself) shrimp and lobster scampi, and my mom, Marie, and myself had a little girls night. Tomorrow is New Years Eve.  We are going to a party at my college roommate, Megan's, house.  She too, LOVES peppermint.  When we were in college, I used to buy her industrial size boxes of york peppermint patties, and the entire box would be gone in a week.  So, the perfect thing to make for dessert for Marie's dinner and to bring to Megan's for New Years was chocolate cupcakes with peppermint buttercream frosting.  I made these last Christmas...but today I did something slightly different.  I added heavy cream to the icing instead of milk.  It resulted in a much creamier buttercream.  I also used a different piping technique.  My mom insisted that I stage the photos to show some residual Christmas cheer.  Enjoy!