S’mores Campfire Cupcakes

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**S’mores Campfire Cupcakes**
**Ingredients**
* 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
* ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter
* ¼ cup granulated sugar
* ½ cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
* 1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water
* 1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ¼ teaspoon table salt
* ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 16 large marshmallows
* Chocolate syrup or melted chocolate for garnish
**Instructions**
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Line 16 muffin tins with non-stick paper liners. I spray nonstick spray on them for extra no-stick-insurance.
3. In a small bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup unsalted butter and ¼ cup sugar until well combined.
4. Pack a scoop (about 2 Tbsp) of the graham cracker crust into the bottom of each muffin tin. Set aside while you make the chocolate cupcake batter.
5. Whisk the cocoa powder and boiling water together until smooth. Let cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
6. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl: flour, baking powder and salt.
7. Cream the ½ cup butter and 1 cup sugar together in a large bowl, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
8. Stir the cocoa into the wet ingredients with a spatula until well-mixed.
9. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Pour the batter on top of the graham cracker crusts in each muffin tin until ¾ of the way full.
10. Bake 16-20 minutes until the cupcakes are cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.
11. While the cupcakes cool, spray a silpat-lined half sheet pan with nonstick spray and place 16 large marshmallows on top. Turn the oven to the broil setting and broil the marshmallows for 2 minutes or just until they have browned on top- don’t walk away from the oven! The marshmallows will go from brown to burnt in seconds, so I like to keep the oven door open while the marshmallows are under the broiler. Press one marshmallow into the tops of each cupcake, then drizzle with a little chocolate syrup if desired.
In case anyone is curious why these recipes always call for the cocoa to be mixed with very hot or boiling water, it’s because it helps the cocoa “bloom.” The hot liquid dissolves the cocoa powder and brings out the flavor in it because the heat releases volatile flavor compounds in the powder and melts any residual cocoa butter in the powder (this last part varies based on what kind of cocoa you’re working with). So don’t skip this step! And if you use boiling water, don’t forget to let it cool a bit before you add it to the rest of your ingredients–you don’t want to scramble your egg.