Who Wants S'More Cupcakes??

Cupcake & Marshmallow frosting recipe from the Pastry Affair

Ganache recipe from Natasha's Kitchen

What you need:

Graham Cracker Cupcakes-

1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup sugar

3 eggs separated (room temperature)

1 cup cake flour (sifted)

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup milk

Chocolate Ganache Glaze-

8 oz (1/2 lb or 1 1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Marshmallow Frosting-

4 egg whites (room temperature)

1 cup sugar

How to make them:

* Make sure all cupcake ingredients are room temperature, if not the cupcakes will come out dense. *

Cupcakes -

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Line cupcake pans with liners.

In a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until it is fluffy, about 30 seconds.

Add the sugar and beat together until light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes.

Add in the egg yolks to the butter mixture one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between additions.

Rinse off the electric mixer paddle.

In another bowl, beat together the egg whites until they are voluminous and foamy.

In a food processor, pulverize the graham cracker crumbs until they are very small crumbs.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix with a  spatula.

Add 1/2 cup of milk.

Mix and add another 1/3 of the flour, then the rest of the milk and rest of the flour.

Add the foaming eggs whites and fold the mixture until combined.

Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling them 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until the cupcake tops bounce back with pressed or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Cool completely on cooling rack.

Ganache-

In a small pot, bring heavy cream to a simmer on the stove top, stirring occasionally.

Just as soon as you see a simmer, remove from heat and poor over chocolate chips, swirling the bowl to make sure all the chips are covered.

Place a lid on bowl of the chocolate chip mixture to trap the heat and let sit undisturbed (NO mixing) for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and swirl the chocolate chips with a whisk starting in the center and working outward until smooth. 

Once its velvety, let it sit uncovered at room temperature (70˚F) for about 15 minutes before glazing cupcakes.

Frosting-

In a double broiler, whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites are warm to the touch, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove from the heat, transfer to the medium mixing bowl and beat the egg whites until they form shiny stiff peaks, about 5 - 8 minutes.

Scoop into a piping bag to decorate the cupcakes.

Assembling-

Take a graham cracker cupcake and dunk the top of the cupcake into the chocolate ganache, let excess drip back into the bowl.

Dunk all cupcakes, set aside.

Using the piping bag with the frosting, pipe the marshmallow on top of the chocolate ganache.

Continue doing the rest of the cupcakes.

Using a hand held pastry torch or the broiler in the oven, toast the marshmallow to get a nice toasty look.

Garnish with a graham cracker or just eat it as is, ENJOY!

Friday Foodie Favorites: Brach's S'mores Candy Corn

     Yes, yes, I know back to candy corn...but these are different! These are S'Mores Candy Corns!  I just couldn't resist! And to top it off I found an awesome recipe for Candy Corn Biscotti!  The original recipe called for the traditional yellow, orange, and white ones, but I decided to mixed it up and use these instead!

Original recipe from Food Nasty

Here's what you need:

3/4 cup candy corn (I used the Brach's S'mores ones)

3 large eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pure almond extract (I omitted this for these)

2 cups all purposed flour (sifted)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Optional:

Milk or Dark melting chocolates

Graham crackers crumbs

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 300˚F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and little flour.

Chop the candy corn into small pieces.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the vanilla and almond (if using) extract.

In a large bowl sift the flour with the sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in the chopped candy corn.

Then add the egg mixture and stir until a dough forms.

Divide the dough in half.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into logs about twice as long as wide.

Place the logs on the baking sheet next to each other and bake for about 25 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

Next move the logs to a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut the logs into slices about 1/4-1/2 inch slices.

Place the slides of biscotti on a new baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, turn slices over and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until firm to the touch.

In you want them extra crunchy, bake longer (don't be alarmed if the candy corn starts running).

Remove from oven and let cool.

Melt chocolate in a microwavable bowl for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between.

Once biscotti's are completely cooled, dip the bottom into the melted chocolate, scrap any extra off.

Then dip into the graham cracker crumbs.

Set on a wire rack or wax paper, chocolate side up to let them dry.

When chocolate has set, ENJOY!

National S'mores Day!

     So on my search to find some fun holidays in the month of August, I came across National S'mores Day! That seems like a fun holiday to celebrate, don't ya think?  I love S'mores! The crunch of the graham cracker, the gooeyness of the roasted marshmallow, and the richness of the chocolate sandwiched together to make a perfect square of yumminess!  To celebrate this tasty holiday I went on my favorite site, Pinterest, and found a great recipe I baked up and wanted to share!

Original recipe found on Something Swanky.

S'mores Bread

Ingredients:

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp all purpose flour

1/4 cup warm water

1 TBsp dry yeast

1 cup whole milk

6 TBsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

1/c cup unsalted butter (melted)

5 cups all purpose flour

2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 bag of miniature marshmallows plus 8 TBsp water

9 whole graham crackers (crushed) plus 4 TBsp melted unsalted butter

How to make it:

Proof yeast by combining the warm water, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp flour, and 1 TBsp dry yeast in a small bowl.

Let sit for about 5 minutes until foamy.

Microwave the milk for 90 seconds.

Pour the milk into a bowl of an electric mixer.

Add sugar, salt, eggs, and butter into the milk bowl and mix with a paddle attachment.

Gradually add in the flour and the yeast mixture, mix until the dough is pulling from the sides of the bowl.

Divide the dough evenly into two balls and place each in a well greased bowl.

Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until it has doubled in size (about an hour and half).

Meanwhile, prep a work area by clearing your kitchen table and cover it with a clean fitted sheet.

Lightly flour the surface of the sheet.

(From this point on, repeat instructions for each loaf)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two loaf pans with parchment paper.

Once dough has risen, turn it out onto the fitted sheet.

Roll the dough from the center outward until it's thin enough to see through the dough to the pattern on the sheet.

In one bowl (or Ziploc bad) combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter, set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the marshmallows and water.

Melt the marshmallow mixture in the microwave (about 90 seconds), whisk until smooth, set aside.

Spread the marshmallow mixture (half of the bowl per loaf), chocolate chips (1 cup per loaf), and graham cracker crumbs (1/2 of the bowl per loaf) evenly over the dough.

Gently roll the dough into a long rope (like rolling up cinnamon roll dough).

Coil the rope into a the bread pans.

Brush the tops of the dough with milk or milk & powdered sugar mixture (I did that and it was awesome!)

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes.

(I baked the two loaves at the same time and they turned out great!)

Once they are completely baked and golden brown cool on wire rack.

Slice it up and ENJOY!!

HAPPY NATIONAL S'MORES DAY!!

Want S'more Muffins?

     The other day I set up our little tent in Liam's room for him to "Camp In" and sticking with that theme of camping, when he woke up I made him some S'more Muffins.  They were very tasty and perfect with a cup of coffee for me and OJ for him! Liam loved sleeping in the tent, wants to sleep in there tonight as well!

Found original recipe at Recipes by Photos

(I added topping the muffins with a toasted marshmallow)

Ingredients:

3 TBsp butter (softened)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 tsp sugar 

1 egg (room temperature)

1/3 cup sour cream

3 TBsp 2% milk

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs (I used Nilla wafers, since I didn't have any graham crackers)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup milk chocolate chips

6 TBsp marshmallow creme

3 Large marshmallows (cut in half)

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg until well combined.

Then add in the sour cream and milk, mix to combine.

In another bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat until moistened.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Coat 6 muffins cups with cooking spray or line with cupcake liners.  

Fill each cup 1/4 full with batter.

Spoon 1 TBsp marshmallow creme into each muffin cup.

Top with remaining batter.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Take out of oven and place half of one marshmallow on top of the muffin.

Place the muffins under the broiler to toast the marshmallow. 

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool.

Serve warm and Enjoy!