S'More Cupcakes

Whew!  Finally school is out and even though summer school is in full swing, it's just not the same as the regular school year - a bit more low key and the workday is not as long.  The last few months were filled with making lots of chalkboards for retirement gifts and gifts in general.  I had no idea that my little hobby would turn into an opportunity to be creative and earn a little money on the side!  I'm very grateful to have been able to ride that chalkboard trend for a few months and be creative.  Very relaxing to boot!  

I was lamenting the fact that I didn't have five projects stacked up waiting for completion, and then, on second thought, I pulled out some older projects I had been wanting to try and... ahhhhh!  Can't wait!!

The newest issue of Real Simple magazine had a recipe for S'Mores Cupcakes.  Well, it looked "real simple".... 

I guess it's good to NOT have things go easily - it's a lesson in patience and self-control.  Yeah, I pretty much wanted to throw them all in the trash, but I persevered and finished them.  My son-in-law will take them to work tomorrow and that will be when I find out if they were consumed quickly by his co-workers (the record is held by the Heath Bar Cupcakes - less than a minute!)

So, when you make these cupcakes, here are a few hints.... don't use "heavy whipping cream" in place of the "heavy cream".  It makes a huge difference in the ganache.  I ended up making plain ol' chocolate frosting because the "ganache" was horrible!  I can't even call it ganache.  It was bitter chocolate yuck.  Also, I put the marshmallows in the 350 degree oven and they cooked.  Not good.  They were crispy thick wafers of sugar something or other.  Certainly nothing like marshmallows roasted over a fire!  So, I would suggest that you use your toaster oven and broil them for a few minutes to get the toasty brown coloring and softness that make s'mores, s'mores.

The recipe can be found here on the recipe page.  Please let me know if you had more success than I!  I think that the glass of Stella Rosa I had after I had placed the last marshmallow was well deserved!!  Sometimes we learn more from our challenges than from our successes!

P.S.  Can I just say that I LOVE cupcake liners??