Irish Coffee Cupcakes

I'm not sure if we've covered this yet, but I'm not Irish. In fact, I'm not sure what I am at all. Does Texan count? The only thing my grandmother told me was the I am 1/64 Cherokee Indian. While this doesn't guarantee me a spot on the reservation, it is a nifty fact!

On this, the greenest & drunkest of all days, I think it's fair to say that everyone has a bit of the Blarney in them.

And after you eat one of these naughty little cuppies, you'll have a bit of booze in you, too.


Melt two sticks of butter over low heat. Look at the burner underneath- neat, huh?


Measure out 3/4 cup of coffee leftover from your morning brew. Add 1 oz. Kahlua and 1 oz. whiskey.


You can pretend the whiskey is authentic and Bushmills, but I'm not much for the hard stuff. This is leftover from Thanksgiving- Uncle Jim's drink of choice. I posed them next to the Leg Lamp (name that movie!) nightlight- it added to the ambiance.


Combine your flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Stir well to combine.


In a glass measuring cup, measure out buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.


After the butter is melted, add the coffee & liquor mixture and stir to combine.


Add the butter/coffee mixture to the flour and stir gently. You just want to cool the butter so you don't scramble the eggs when you add them.


Add the egg/buttermilk mixture to the bowl and stir gently until fully combined.



Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Using 1/3 cup measure, fill the cups until they are almost full. Or, if you're like me, fill them all the way to the top. Whoops. I ended up with 16 cupcakes.


Bake 20-25 minutes. You want a toothpick to come out clean and the tops to spring back when you touch them. Combine 1 tablespoon Kahlua and 1 tablespoon whiskey in a bowl and brush onto the tops of each baked cupcake while they're still warm. You want them to be nice and liquored up.


While the cupcakes are cooling, start the frosting. Dump the softened butter, powdered sugar, whiskey, and Kahlua into the Kitchen-Aid. Start the mixer on low and then ramp it up and really get it going on high.


See...fluffy!


Frost the cupcakes generously. I tried to decorate mine with chocolate covered espresso beans, but neither the local Starbucks or specialty foods store had them- what's up with that?? I settled for chocolate covered cacao nibs. Also delicious.

One last confession: these are hands down the best baked treats I've EVER made.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes
adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Coffee Cake recipe

2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cup coffee
1 oz. Kahlua
1 oz. whiskey
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cupcake tin.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugars, and salt. Set aside.

Melt butter over low heat. Once it's melted, add the coffee, Kahlua, & whiskey. Stir to combine.

In a glass measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.

Add the coffee/butter mixture to the flour and gently stir to cool the butter. Then, add the buttermilk mixture to the bowl and stir gently until it's completely combined.

Using a 1/3 cup measure, fill each cupcake liner with batter until it's almost full.

Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and top springs back when pressed.

While still warm, brush the tops with 1 tablespoon whiskey and 1 tablespoon Kahlua.

Boozy Buttercream Frosting
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp whiskey
2 tbsp Kahlua

In a Kitchen Aid mixer, dump all ingredients. Start the mixer on low until the butter is incorporated and then ramp it up to medium high. Mix until fluffy.