Sorry for the lousy pun, only I would use a line from Oliver Twist to describe cupcakes inspired by s’mores. S’mores are awesome, aren’t they? I mean, whats better than what basically amounts to a warm graham cracker and chocolate sandwich with marshmallow. Well, I can think of some things better than that but its still pretty friggin’ sweet. And thanks to the genius invention that is Fluff, its easy to make s’mores cupcakes and cake without messy melted marshmallows.

I realize that maybe s’mores don’t exist in other countries so here’s a quick explanation thanks to Wikipedia:

A s’more is a traditional campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada, consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a slab of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.^[1]. They were first mentioned in the Girl Scout Handbook in 1927, which stated they were inspired by Loretta Scott Crew’s campfire treats.

S’mores are associated with recreational camping. Part of the enjoyment of this simple dessert is the way in which it is made on such camping trips. A marshmallow is skewered on the end of a long stick and held just above the campfire until (according to personal preference) its outer surface starts to brown, char, or even catch fire. Once heated, the inside of the marshmallow becomes soft. The marshmallow is quickly pinched off its stick with the waiting graham crackers, one of which has a piece of chocolate on it (typically a section of a milk chocolate bar). Ideally, the heat from the roasted marshmallow partially melts the chocolate into a gooey mess. However, some people assemble the entire s’more on the stick and cook it all at once to ensure gooey chocolate. Some people add peanut butter to the mix for additional flavor. The peanut butter may be added between a graham cracker and the chocolate piece or between the chocolate piece and the marshmallow. Many s’more consumers will set the waiting graham cracker and chocolate near the campfire to help melt the chocolate.

Making s’mores in this manner is so popular in the United States that supermarkets often carry graham crackers, marshmallows, and huge chocolate bars in the same shelf section during the summer months. In recent years “S’More Kits” for making the treats on the kitchen table at home have been sold at housewares stores. These consist of a small heating element to cook the marshmallow, metal skewers and a lazy susan to hold the “raw” ingredients. These are similar to fondue sets. Different items sold as s’mores may be found in restaurants, prepared at home, or even bought ready-made. These confections usually contain the three ingredients of graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow, but they are not necessarily heated or served in the same shape as the traditional s’more.

Pretty cool. I’m not into camping, as you can probably imagine. I like having my makeup and a hair dryer with me on trips, not to mention an actual bathroom… however this little campfire treat translates amazingly into cupcakes, so I can pretend I’m camping while sitting in my warm house watching a DVD. And its the perfect time of year for these. If only I was able to toast the marshmallow frosting a bit. *sigh*

S’MORES CUPCAKES

Get this shit together:

• 7 whole graham crackers, coarsely chopped
• 1 & ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ cup buttermilk

And then you’re gonna:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. Place about 1 tablespoon of chopped graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of each liner. Set aside and reserve the remaining crushed crackers.
3. Mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk until smooth.
4. Scoop batter into pan and bake 22-27 minutes until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
5. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.

MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

First you get:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 (7½ ounce) jar Fluff, or similar marshmallow cream
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Then you’re gonna:

1. Beat butter in a large bowl with mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in marshmallow cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Increase speed to high; beat until fluffy.
2. Frost cooled cupcakes.
3. Top frosted cupcakes with graham cracker crumbs and a mini chocolate bar, if desired.

I’d like to give a big thanks to CB at I ♥ Cuppycakes for her review of how to bake in party nut cups, because it really stuck with me and since this was my first time using them, it was super helpful! I love how these look when used as cupcake liners. That said, I found that CB was right, filling them 5/8 of the way full makes them puff up perfectly. These cups are also very convenient because they’re so stiff, you just fill them standing up, and put ‘em on a cookie sheet to bake them. No muffin tins to clean up!

Oh- this makes roughly a dozen cupcakes, if you use those cups. I got 13. I’m not sure about if you use regular liners… since the sizes are different. Also, 7 graham crackers is way more than you need. Try 4 and go from there. I ended up with so much crushed graham cracker left I’ll have to make more of these this week to give away.

When I say these are delicious- please believe me. They’re literally heaven in nut cups. Haha. Heaven in nut cups. I’m funny.