St. Patrick’s Day Pistachio Cupcakes

Looking for a simple St. Patrick’s Day dessert that is sure to please? Try out these soft, springy cupcakes. Beware: The frosting is so good you may want to eat it all before putting it on the cupcakes.

These need to be consumed within 48 hours as they don’t hold well…take them to the party or office. They’ll be gone in a heartbeat!

Pistachio Pudding Cupcakes

Yield: 12 – 13 cupcakes
Prep Time: 1.5 hours including cooling time

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• (1) 3.4 oz package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 1/2 cups cold milk

for frosting—

• 1 cup cold milk
• (1) 3.4 oz package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Roughly chopped roasted/salted pistachio nuts. Heart of the Desert Nutmeats work great for this.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk together the instant pudding and the cold milk. Sprinkle in the cake mix and mix well with a spoon until well combined.
• Fill a lined (or greased) cupcake tin about 3/4 of the way full with batter. You should get about 12-13 cupcakes out of this!
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Let cool completely before frosting. (30 – 45 mins)

To make the frosting, whip the cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Whisk together the other package of instant pudding with the milk. Fold pudding into whipped cream and pipe onto cupcakes. If you want your frosting a little deeper green, add a couple of drops of food dye to the cream mixture before folding in the pudding. Garnish with chopped pistachios.
Enjoy!

Heart of the Desert is a working pistachio ranch and vineyard with four retail establishments in New Mexico. They are best known for their farm fresh pistachios and Award-Winning New Mexico wines. Each store offers wine and pistachio tastings. They offer worldwide shipping and produce attractive gourmet baskets that make great corporate and family gifts. The main store, on the ranch in Alamogordo, offers farm tours that showcases how pistachios are grown and processed as well as a stunning Tuscany themed patio that overlooks the groves and is available for weddings, private parties or enjoying a relaxing glass of wine.