Recipe of the Week - Peppermint Buttercream

The holiday season makes me think about peppermints.  I love candy canes and hot chocolate with a splash of peppermint schnapps!  The inspiration for today's recipe comes from a Williams-Sonoma catalog I got in the mail this week.  They had all flavors of cupcakes and frostings....except I cannot imagine people paying what they charge for a dozen cupcakes. 

I would suggest a chocolate or vanilla cupcake for this buttercream - maybe even a red velvet!

Mara Bakes  via  Flickr

Peppermint Buttercream

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1 to 2 tablespoons peppermint schnapps (or 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract)

Cream the butter with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy - about 30 seconds. Add the confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 tablespoon peppermint schnapps.

Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated - about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).  Add up to 1 tablespoon milk if the frosting seems to stiff.