S'mores Cupcakes

Summer at my household was always full of trips to the river, lots of hiking, and camping in the woods of Flagstaff, AZ. I remember hating camping for a really long time before I finally got over my fear of bugs and being murdered by some werewolf (too many horror movies, I guess). Now, I adore camping. It's one of my favorite things to do. There's something so satisfying about packing up a ton of equipment and hiking into nature, then settling down and just enjoying the sounds and sights around you. 

Plus, let's be real: the best part is that you get s'mores. What is better than the toasty, warm, and gooey experience of eating s’mores? I have a serious weakness for those guys. I always felt so bad for basically torching an innocent marshmallow over the fire, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Sorry marshmallow.

The other day I was thinking about camping, and this brought me back to when I was running Michelle's Healthy Bites and I came up with a S'mores cupcake recipe.  I found myself with the craving for a cupcake I decided that combining the two would be… well… just as delicious as it sounds. It seems like the time of the year to finally share it.

These cupcakes.

Wow, guys.

Rich, chocolately. Decadent. Packed with chocolate chips and melting marshmallows, perfectly moist and topped with a golden meringue frosting and bits of sweet graham crackers. Can I get a yum? YUM. This recipe doesn’t taste low-calorie—it tastes sinfully rich (heck, ask the 18 people who devoured them at the party I attended). The chocolate flavor is deep, and the marshmallows get all toasty and melty. Basically, it's delicious. And you should try it. And then give me one, because duh.

S’mores Cupcakes
Adapted from CanYouStayForDinner

Makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1c. light vanilla soy milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1c (5oz) flour
• 1/3c (1oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1/4tsp salt                                                           
• 1/4c.sugar OR splenda
• 1/2c. (3oz) packed brown sugar
• 1/2c. no sugar added applesauce
• 1tsp vanilla
• 1/4c. semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
• 1c. mini marshmallows
• 2tbl graham cracker crumbs

For the Frosting:

• 4 large cage-free egg whites
• 1/2tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2tsp vanilla
• 1/2c. sugar OR splenda
• 12 mini marshmallows
• 12 semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine (soy)milk and vinegar. Set aside and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grab a 12-holder cupcake/muffin pan. Either spray it with cooking spray or line it with cupcake liners/
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and splenda. Add in the brown sugar.
4. Combine the applesauce, milk mixture, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry in batches, stirring to ensure everything is well-mixed and not clumped. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter should be runny. To assemble the cupcakes, fill each cupcake liner 1/3 of the way up with batter. Divide the marshmallows evenly among the cupcakes, and top with remaining batter (cupcake liners should, in the end, be about 2/3 of the way full). Sprinkle each cupcake with 1/2tsp graham cracker crumbs.
5. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 18-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Wait 5 minutes, then remove from pan (carefully). Allow to cool completely before devouring (trust me, I know this is hard, but you must wait—if not, it sticks to the liners. When it cools, this problem disappears).
6. To make frosting, take a large casserole dish and fill it partly with boiling water. Place the eggs in a large, heat-proof bowl and place the bowl in the water (don’t let any water get into the eggs). Beat the eggs on HIGH until they get very foamy and almost reach “soft-peak” stage. Add in the vanilla and cream of tartar.  Beat until medium peaks form, and slowly incorporate splenda until stiff peaks form.
7. Take a large ziplock bag and carefully spoon the egg white mixture into a corner of the bag. Trim off the end of the corner, allowing a medium-large space for piping. Evenly divide the mixture among the tops of the cooled cupcakes.
8. Turn on your broiler. Place the cupcakes on a large baking sheet and place them under the broiler, turning as the frosting touches the flame and becomes golden (this gives it that nice toasty flavor and looks incredible!) Make sure all sides of the frosting are golden, and remove from oven. Garnish with a marshmallow and a chocolate chip. Best eaten right away, but will last in the fridge for up to 2 days (or up to 5 unfrosted).

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 183mg
Total Fat: 4g
       Saturated: 2g
       Trans: 0g
Sugar: 25g
Protein: 5g
Calories: 191 (using sugar)