S'more Cupcakes

by Anne

So before we left Chicago last summer, my then-fiancé-now-husband and I threw a party. While I don’t usually speak for him, I can accurately say that we LOVE having parties, and since we were leaving we knew that this had to be a great shindig. Rising to the challenge, I made a massive batch of baked goods, including blonde brownies, cake mix snickerdoodles (recipe coming soon!) and s’more cupcakes.

The s’more cupcakes were new territory for me and I spent more hours than I should probably admit researching graham cake, marshmallow frosting recipes, and toasting strategies. And, just for the record, though I threatened to furiously copy down Martha’s graham cake recipe while “mindlessly” hanging out in the bookstore- I refrained. And committed no copyright infringement. Promise. 

I finally settled on a slightly altered version of this recipe and the results were pretty good. There’s no flour in the mix (just crushed up graham cracker) so the texture is a bit different from a traditional flour-based cake. But it was pretty good and very graham-y. 

Figuring out the topping turned out to be the most challenging part of the whole process. And, thanks to some fabulous friends/cupcake fans, I now have a culinary torch for just these kinds of situations. But no worries, I have a (fairly) foolproof technique for those who remain torch-less.

Once you’ve baked your cupcakes, follow these simple instructions for toasted marshmallow/gooey chocolate-ness that we all love:

• After your cupcakes have cooled (REALLY cooled-you don’t want the chocolate or marshmallow fluff melting prematurely), place a square or two of chocolate on the top of the cupcake.
• Pipe some marshmallow fluff on the cupcake like you would with any other buttercream/cream cheese frosting. You want to cover some, but not all of the chocolate. The graham cake is pretty delicate, and fluff can be difficult to spread, so I’d really recommend piping.  
• Toss the cupcakes in a toaster oven.  Try to use a setting that directs heat only to the top of the cupcakes (I used broil) because you really don’t want to be toasting the wrapper. I’d avoid the actual oven, or you’ll probably ended up burning the poor little guys like I did.  Of course, with the toaster oven technique, you can only do about three or four cupcakes at a time, but the final result is worth it. And totally reminiscent of marshmallows at a campfire.

I know it's not really the season for s'more-themed anything, but sometimes we just need a nice little reminder that winter is temporary, right? Either way, enjoy!

S'more Cupcakes

    •    2 2/3 cups of finely crushed graham crackers
    •    2/3 cup of finely chopped pecans (optional)
    •    1 1/3 tsp of baking soda
    •    1/8 tsp of nutmeg
    •    1/8 tsp of cinnamon
    •    3 tbsp. of butter
    •    2/3 cup of granulated sugar
    •    2/3 cup of light brown sugar
    •    5 eggs
    •    1 1/3 cup of sour cream
    •    1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the nutmeg, cinnamon, crushed grahams, nuts and soda. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and the sugars until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and beat very well with each addition. Add vanilla. Add sour cream and crumb mixture alternately to the creamed mixture.

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill to 3/4 with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until the cake tests done.