Smores Cupcakes

This recipe begins with a story. The story of the poor little hand mixer who thought he could. He thought he could hang with the big bad KitchenAid Mixers and make frosting but alas, he couldn't. After whisking the frosting for 7 minutes on high, his little engine gave out and he couldn't :(

Yep, my $5 hand mixer that has lasted me through almost 10 months of cooking and baking finally gave out. I was worried it would happen but the thought of a marshmallow-like frosting on top of my graham cracker and chocolate cupcake overrode my worries. Even though my frosting wasn't fully whipped, it still tasted delicious on top of these smore's cupcakes!

This recipe is one of a 3 smore's cupcake recipes I have bookmarked to try. I found it on Joelen's blog and it seemed very straight-forward and easy. It was delicious and made me want to go camping again! But at least I can enjoy the deliciousness of smore's without the campfire smell in your hair!

I made these for a get together with the group I went canoeing/camping with last weekend. I thought a smore's cupcake was the perfect thing to bring to the potluck!

Oh, and with the demise of my hand mixer and the problems I encountered toasting the frosting with a lighter, I've decided i need to invest in two new kitchen tools: a KitchenAid stand mixer and a kitchen torch! Now I only have to convince the husband.... :)

Graham Cracker and Milk Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (about 20 crackers)

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

1 cup milk chocolate chips, chopped

Swiss Meringue Marshmallow Frosting

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 egg whites

2 tsps vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350º.

Mix flour, crushed graham crackers, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, Alternately add flour mixture and milk and beat until batter is almost smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Line cupcake pan with liners. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a fork inserted comes our clean (mine were done about 17 minutes). Remove from oven and cool.

To make the frosting: Combine egg whites and sugar in the top of a double boiler (or a glass bowl over but not touching a pan of simmering water). Whisk constantly over medium-high heat until mixture reaches 160º, about 5 minutes. Pour egg white mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (take note STAND MIXTURE :) )fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high for 6 minutes, or until room temperature. Add optional vanilla extract 1 tsp at a time until desired taste is reached.

Garnish with graham cracker squares, milk chocolate squares, or be adventurous and toast the frosting with a kitchen torch!