S'mores Cupcakes

I love cupcakes. They are so versatile- you can take any dessert recipe or sweet combination and turn it into a cupcake. Take s'mores, for instance. I made these cupcakes for a late summer BBQ with friends; I figured it was a good way to say good-bye to the summer. They are very rich, and take some time to make and put together, but delicious!

Instead of making 30 cupcakes (odd, since it's most convenient to make 24), I made 24 cupcakes, and then used the rest of the leftover ingredients for mini cakes- I put everything in ramekins instead. I had to adjust the time they baked, but they turned out pretty nicely, for an experiment, anyways. Enjoy!

S’mores Cupcakes
Yields 30 cupcakes

For the graham crust:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (plus more for sprinkling on top of frosting)
1/ cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2-1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

For the cupcakes:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. Spoon 1 Tb of graham cracker mix into the bottom of each muffin cup. Press crumbs firmly with your fingers. Save the remaining mixture for topping. Top graham cracker mix with several bittersweet chocolate chips.
3. Bake graham mixture for about five minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
5. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
6. Add flour mixture to large bowl and beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full with batter (about 1/4 cup). Sprinkle batter with small amount of remaining graham cracker mixture.
7. Bake 22-25 minutes. Cool completely, then frost.

Marshmellow Buttercream Frosting
2 containers (about 16 oz total) Marshmallow Fluff
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus additional sugar, if necessary

Spoon the Marshmallow Fluff into a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low. Gradually add the butter pieces, beating well after each addition, until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Scrape the bowl well to incorporate. Add more powdered sugar, if necessary, to adjust the texture. Sprinkle leftover graham cracker crust on frosting, and then top with one square of a Hershey chocolate bar.